Best Worst Mistake
by Nessa Fae Rose
Summary: Anastasia Steele doesn't have the most honorable life. Christian Grey doesn't have the most honorable intentions. What happens when their lives collide? Will they be able to overcome their demons, even if it means losing some important things? RATING MAY CHANGE...
1. Chapter 1

**So this is going to be based off of Jekyll and Hyde the Musical. If some of you haven't seen it, that's totally fine. All of it will still make sense. For those of you who have seen it, the "Jekyll" amd the "Hyde" in this fic will be two seperate people, not one person with split personalities. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Ana**

I don't complain often. Or ever, for that fact. The life I had been sucked into prevented me from ever doing so. I had to stay alive, and if this was the only was, then so be it.

Nothing had prepared me for what happened though. If I'd have known, I'd have screamed and fought like hell to get away from it. But I didn't. And that may have been a mistake. But it also may have been a miracle.

 **i know this is like the shortest intro ever, (THEY WILL BE WAY LONGER) but I don't know if I'm gonna go through with this. I'm still working out some plot kninks. 5 reviews if you want it continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Not only have I succeeded in the goal of five reviews, but all of you lovelies posted ten! So here's chapter two for you! ENJOY!**

I don't complain. Normally, I don't have many demanding clients. One once in a while is a small price to pay for the amount of money that comes my way when they do. After two in the morning, my shift is finally over and I retire to my room upstairs. I drop my bag next to the door and make my way to the mirror inside the small bathroom. My cheek stings as I draw my hand over the bruise that was placed there. The client had been immediately thrown out. Only consensual punishments were given here. I hadn't agreed to any. Sighing, I pull my fitted shirt over my head and kicked my black jeans of. I was one of the luckier girls who got to dress semi-casual. Others had to dress the part because of their regular's preferences. I laugh at myself. Nothing about my life is lucky.

I slip on some pajamas and slide into bed, welcoming the cool touch of the sheets on my tired limbs. My eyes close and I quickly drift off to sleep.

 _"Ana! Ana please!" The voice called despairingly. I couldn't see him, but his screaming kept getting louder. The voice desperately trying to be heard. "Ana plea-" Suddenly the voice broke off._

"Ana wake up!" I bolt upright, eyes wide, just as Kate lets go of my shoulder. "You had another nightmare."

I peel the covers off and move to get out of bed. Kate places a breakfast sandwich, a tea bag, and a cup of hot water on my nightstand. Kate knows me too well. She embraces me and then pulls away, looking at me in the eyes with concern.

"Why don't you ever tell me what they're about?" she asked.

"It's just something I don't want to talk about Kate. Drop it." She nods, reluctantly holding her tongue to the inquisition that wanted to come out. I appreciated that she backed off when she could tell that I really didn't want to talk about something.

"Now here, eat your breakfast sandwich, even though it's early evening. Maybe you should just call it a dinner sandwich, Ana. You'll need your energy."

I chuckled, seeing Kate's mouth twitch up in a smile as her mind wandered, probably imagining, no, _plotting_ about tonight. "KATE!" She blinked and smiled innocently, curling her hands into a halo above her head. I rolled my eyes. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" I asked her. Kate showed off a toothy Cheshire Cat smile.

"Of course, Mademoiselle. But I'm quite sure you have two hours to get ready for tonight." She left me to get ready, but not before snatching the sandwich from my hands and chomping off a chunk.

"Go!" I pushed her out of my room, trying to hide my smile.

Two hours later, I was dressed in nothing but a short, silk, cream colored robe and a pair of matching suede ballet flats. My mind kept wandering off to my nightmare. The voice was new. It wasn't the normal one that was usually haunting my nights.

"What were you doing?" she probed in a whisper as we got in line for inspection.

I shook my head. "Nothing." Kate opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it as Elena stopped in front of us. This always was and forever will be the worst part of this job.

"You're late, and Hyde is in a foul mood tonight. You need to learn to be on time." She said through gritted teeth to me. "Dismissed!" She barked. "I don't know who you girls think you are." She walked away.

"Well, don't worry Elena, neither do we." I mutter under my breath.

"Onstage!" Elena yelled back.

The bidding went by quickly. I couldn't help the feeling I was being stared at. Differently than usual. It was an intense stare. I shivered of the feeling as Elena stepped up to me and announced my name and read off the small list that accompanied it.

"Five hundred!" Elena started off the bidding.

"Seven hundred!" Someone yelled out.

"Five thousand." A man near the back said loudly, but didn't yell.

A small gasp echoed around the room. My eyes widened, but I refrained from gasping. I strained my eyes to see the man who called the number, but couldn't see him with the dim lighting. My stomach churned at the thought of someone bidding so much for one night.

"Six thousand." My eyes strayed to the front of the crown where Hyde sat swirling his glass of amber liquid. There was a silence. Hyde's eyes were on fire and I lowered my eyes to the floor to avoid his gaze. The moment I did, the man in the back spoke. A word that sounded like 'mine' before he placed his next bid.

"Fifteen thousand." I gasped a little this time.

Hyde growled and muttered something, no doubt spitting out curses under his breath. He downed the glass of liquid and slammed it on the table. I flinched.

"Going once." Silence. "Going twice." Silence. "Sold, for _fifteen thousand_ dollars to the gentleman in the back." I know Elena enjoyed saying the number immensely.

As the girls walked off the stage to prepare themselves I began to follow them, but was stopped by Hyde jerking my wrist. I turned to him slowly and he slapped his hand across my cheek. Small gasps echoed around the room. He pulled me to him and my back slammed into his chest. He pulled my arms across my chest so I couldn't move them.

"Where were you and why were you late?" He growled into my ear. I jerked my head away and pulled against his hands.

"What does it matter, it won't happen again." I say quietly.

"I know it won't. Because if it does," He dropped his voice so that only I could hear it. "It'll happen to a dead girl. And I mean that."

"I know you do." I pulled away as soon as he let go. He pushed me offstage and into the crowd.

"Take care of him, Ana. Some of us can see good quality when we see it." Straightening, I made my way to the back where I looked for the man who bought me for the night. Somebody grabbed my hand. I turned to look at him and my lips parted. The man had copper locks and steely grey eyes that bored into me. It was the stare that I felt on the stage.

"Can I help?" the man asked. It was the same voice that called out for fifteen thousand dollars. But how could someone so young have so much money to spend at random?

Not wanting to ruin the night by bringing up anything dark, I chuckled a bit. I raised my chin and tilted my cheek to him. "Can you see if my face is still there?" I could still feel the sting of the slap, but it was ebbing slowly away.

He bows his head, appearing to intently study my cheek. Finally he pulls away with a small smile. "It seems to be, yes. A very beautiful face." His smile faltered, almost as if he was surprised at himself for saying it, but it soon returned and he offered a seat at his table.

"What's your name, love?"

"Christian Grey." My eyes widen. This was the man Kate tried to get an interview with for her freelance writing. The billionaire, Christian Grey.

"And you?"

I cover my shock with a smile of my own. "Anastasia"

He arches an eyebrow. "Is there a last name to go with that, Anastasia?" I love the way he rolls my name on his tongue; emphasizing it as though it has some importance.

"Steele" I breathed. Now feeling stupid, as he already knew my name from the bidding, I felt my cheeks turning red.

"Tell me, Miss Steele, what is a girl like you, doing in a place like this?"

I didn't know how to answer that question. "Working."

He furrowed his brow and played his fingers across his lips. I want to touch those lips. Christian leaned back in his chair, still looking at me, contemplating something.

"You seem too innocent to be working here. To gentle. Is that just a façade?"

"Wouldn't you rather just find out yourself?" I reached across the table and took his hand, twirling small circles in the middle of his palm with my pointer finger. I turned his hand over and trailed the circles around his fingers ending back in the middle of his palm. My eyes never left his. His eyes darkened and he took another sip of his wine.

"I'm paying for your company, I never made it clear what kind of company, I wanted."

"Mmm... But, even if you didn't have it in mind, it's what you want now."

"Perhaps." Was all he said. We talked about other things. Interests, music, books. Casual topics. I couldn't understand why he'd paid fifteen thousand dollars just to talk. It made no sense. For someone as rich as he, I'd think he'd have dozens of people to talk to. Social events to go to, places to visit, and people to see. Yet, here he is, and here I am, and it's our turn to talk.

"I'm afraid I have to go." Christian said, rising from his seat hours later. "It was a pleasure to speak with you Miss Steele." I giggled. The wine had gotten into my system. I'd never been able to drink much, without becoming inebriated.

"You too, Mr. Grey, Sir." I slurred. His eyes darkened, and he walked around the table. He leaned in and captured my lips in a demanding kiss. I stood up so he wouldn't have to lean down and wrapped my hands in his hair, tugging a bit. He growled, and ran his tongue across my lower lip, asking for entrance. I opened my mouth and moaned as he slipped his tongue in. The place in between my legs gathered heat. Christian ran his hands through my hair and pulled. I pulled away gasping for air.

"Wow." I whispered.

He nodded slowly. "Wow," He agreed. "Goodbye Anastasia."

Christian stepped away and turned, leaving me in the nearly vacant room.

 **How was that? I personally think I suck at dialogue, but hey.**

 **So have any of you ever seen Jekyll and Hyde? I'm just curious; tell me in your review! What do you think about Ana? What do you think she has nightmares about?**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Bold italics**_ **: Ana singing**

 _Regular italics:_ Nathan singing

 **Ana**

Saturday morning I got up early to get ready for rehearsals. Musical theatre was my life away from my life. It sounds strange, but it's true. In shows, it was always an escape from my life and into the life of someone else. I completely submerge myself into my character. After rehearsals, or after a show, I always feel rejuvenated from the brief break from my everyday life.

This time we were rehearsing Ghost the Musical. I'd been surprised after auditions to be put in the role of Molly. Usually I'm put in the chorus, so being put into one of leading roles was kind of a shock, but I'm excited to have the role. I have definitely gotten over the stage fright I used to have years ago.

"Ana, are you excited for the show tonight?" Nathan asks. Nathan has the role of Sam. We're supposed to be madly in love in the show. Outside the show, we're friends who just goof around with each other.

"Yes, totally!" I always am. Shows are the only nights I ever have work off. It took some serious persuading to get Hyde to let me off for shows, but it worked since it's only for around three nights every few months.

"I hear there's this guy coming who's considering buying and funding the whole theater. I don't know exactly what the deal is, but he doesn't own any theaters, so the current owner says it's a bit strange that he's suddenly considering. It's a great opportunity for the theater though."

"Do you know who he is?" I ask. The theatre is a pretty big one. It would have to be someone passionate about theatre that would want to buy the building and fund all of the shows.

Nathan shook his head. "The owner won't say and the director has no idea."

"That's a bit odd, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "Sure it is, but I'm not too worried about it. We'll still have our lovely Anastasia and the rest of our company won't we," He says teasingly and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

"Yup. You can't get rid of me that easily." He laughs and we walk up the stage steps, ready to start rehearsal.

At the end of rehearsal, during the last scene, tears run down my cheeks once again. I know I will never be able to go through this scene without crying. After we finish rehearsal, I walk off stage with Nathan. He chuckles and hugs me. "You are so funny you know? We've done this scene a billion times and you still cry every time."

I laugh and wipe the tears away with the back of my hand. "I can't help it."

He laughs and shakes his head. "See you later. I think we're supposed to be here an hour before curtain."

I nod in agreement. "See you." He laughs at the line from the script. The one that makes me cry the most.

" _ **No don't speak, don't talk. You love me Sam; I know you do. I see it in your eyes; I know it's in your heart. There are no secrets there, no lies, still when we're apart, I get this fear and I need to hear I love you. I love you here in my life. And everything about us is right. When you find it, there's no reason to hide from those three little words that come from deep down inside."**_ I sing.

Nathan looks at me and sings. _"People may say it every day, but it's really not the only way to reveal it."_

" _ **But they say it Sam. Sam, they say it."**_

" _It doesn't matter what they're saying if words are all that they're conveying. If you feel it, and believe it, then it should be all you need to know it's true."_

" _ **Sometimes you need to hear it, Sam. I need to hear it. Or else you begin to fear. Begin to fear it isn't true. I'd love to hear it every day, but even just this one time, it's okay. I can live that way. It's not like I ever doubt it."**_

" _It's not like you have to doubt it. I don't wanna have to shout it, what I'm feeling."_

" _ **But I'd really like to hear about it, what you're feeling. What are you feeling?"**_

" _I say it when I sing. When I make you tea at night. When I massage you feet. When I ask if you're alright."_

" _ **You here in my life, and everything about us is right. If its love how can you keep it inside? You can just say it now, Sam. Give me a sign."**_

" _I show you with my touch. When we're visiting your aunt. When I put away your shoes. When I laugh at all your jokes. I don't know why I can't"_

" _ **It's just three little words Sam. Do you love me?"**_

The rest of the show went by smoothly. Opening night is usually the best. Everyone's spirits are high and we're all pumped up for the show. It was no different tonight.

At the end, as expected, I was in tears again. " _I say it with my eyes. I say it with my touch. I say it with my heart. I love..."_ Nathan wraps his arms around my waist. _"_ You. I love you Molly. I've always loved you."

"Ditto." I respond. His arms leave me and a blinding light fills the stage.

I hear Nathan's voice. I know he's offstage laughing at me again for crying. I can hear the smile. "It's amazing Molly. The love inside. You'll take it with you. See ya."

I sink to my knees and choke out the last line of the show. "See ya… Bye."

I run off to the wings as soon as the stage lights go out. Nathan is waiting there with a box of tissues and a mirror. A smug smile starches across his face. I stuck my tongue out at him and take the box from him. I wipe the running mascara from my face and throw the box back at him.

"Thanks." I say, wrinkling my nose at him.

After bows, I run offstage to the stage door. After yanking open the door, I hurry to get to my car, but run into someone. I look up into those grey eyes.

"Christian. I have to go. I need to go. I-" Christian's face instantly lights up with concern.

"What's wrong?" I shake my head and push him to the side with my shoulder. He grabs my wrist and tries to pull me back. I panic and yell.

"Stop! Let me go!" He stops pulling. I see his face is still full of confusion and concern. I jerk my hand back and press it to my chest. I open the door to my car and start it. I pull out of the back lot and ease the car to a stop on the street outside the lot. I look back and see Christian standing in the lot, staring back at me with a blank expression.

"I'm sorry. I can't." I whisper.

 **Whoa. Okay so Ana officially freaked out. Why do you think? What can't she do? Let me know your thoughts in your review! 5 reviews for a new chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Christian's POV**

The moment the man's hand slapped across Anastasia's face, I stood up. How dare he hit her. For no reason but for being late. I'm quite sure she hadn't done anything to deserve that. From the looks of her stuggle, she didn't consent to anything. I took a step forward, but someone behind me grabbed my hand.

"Sit down mate. You'll only make it worse for the girl."

I yanked my hand quickly form the man's grasp. I knew they were right though and sat down with my teeth clenched, containing a growl. _Touch me again, I dare you,_ I thought.

The man who slapped her said something quite loud, but I couldn't hear him through the rushing in my ears. He shoved her off of the edge of the stage and stubled a bit before regaining her balance. I took a deep breath through my teeth and attempted to reighn in my temper, before Anastasia got here.

I grasped her hand as she began to pass. She turned, and her lips parted. For a moment, I saw fear flash through her eyes, but it quickly dissapeared. I let go of her hand. "Can I help?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

"Can you see if my face is still there?" She tilts her cheek so that it faces me. I lean down to insoect her cheek. I can see where the man's hand left behind a red mark. I feel the anger eating away at me again, but stop myself before I do something stupid.

I pull away with a small smile. "It seems to be, yes. A very beautiful face." _What was that?_ I shake my head slightly and ask for her to sit and talk with me. _Jesus, Grey, get your shit together. You don't talk to girls, you fuck them till they beg you to stop._ Looking at Anastasia, I can't help, but be intrigued. She looks so innocent. So gentle. Too much so to work here. This leaves me to wonder how she ever came to the Nightshade in the first position. I asked her so and multiple emotions flashed across her face. I could see she was having trouble pinpointing an answer. She settled on the most simple. _Working._

Her hands held one of mine and started drawing patterns into my palm and around my fingers. I felt my pants getting tighter. Fuck, how was she doing that with something as siple as holding my hand. "Wouldn't you rather just find out for yourself?" She responded when I asked about her innocence. _Yes, Miss Steele, I would love to._ I had a feeling she was used to this. Being used and thrown away and forgotten. I didn't want her to think I was that much of an asshoile. _Since when do you care what people think?_ What is happening? I avert the conversation before I take her in front of all of the people here.

We talk about normal things. I still find it hard to ignore the issue under the table, but I keep my composure. At one in the morning, I realize we have been talking for hours. I reluctantly pull away from the conversation and tell her I have to leave. "It was a pleasure to speak with you Miss Steele." She giggled. She got drunk on wine. Is that even possible? I'll have to remember she doesn't drink very much next time. _Next time?_

"You too Mr. Grey, Sir." Fucking, hell. I lean down and give her a kiss. She stood up and tangled her hand in my hair and pulled. Fuck, I need to go, or the end will not be what I intended. I tugged her hair and pulled away. Taking deep breaths, she smiled.

"Wow."

"Wow," I agreed. "Goodbye Anastasia."

I can't fucking work. My mind keeps wandering to her. It's been days and I still cannot get her face out of my head. I grunt, frustatedly. How can I be this unfocused?

I pull up Anastasia's background check that Welch sent me earlier. I skim through it again. Nothing I didn't already know except that she has been involved in every production at the local theater for the past two years. I was interested in this. She must be passionate about theatre. Pulling up the theatre's wesite, I find they are in desperate need of money and are near shutting down. I also find that are having a production tonight of Ghost the Musical. I faintly remember Mia forcing me to watch the movie a few years ago.

I find the number for the manager of the theatre and call. She tells me she'd interested in selling as long as the theatre keeps doing productions. I ask if she has any tickets still for tonighs show. If the production is good, and they look like they could profit from them, I may buy the place. After getting a ticket, I come from the call smiling. Perhaps I will see Miss Steele again.

As I take my seat in one of the boxes, I just begin to look at the playbill to see what part Anastasia is taking when the lights go down. Sighing, I put the playbill down and decide to wait and see who she'll be.

"What a mess!" Anastasia's voice echoes around the auditorium.

"I told you!" A man says. Three figures walk through a hole in the wall. One of them is a girl, and two of them guys. Ana is wearing a blonde wig. It looks so strange, knowing she's a brunette.

"I can't breathe," the first man says.

"Use your mask, dummy." Anastasia says, looking around the stage. She's one of the leading roles. I believe this will be a good show.

At the end of the show, Anastasia has tears rolling down her cheeks. The lights from the stage bounce off of them, making them more visible. I don't know why seeing her cry makes me feel so weird. I want to comfort her. _Why, Grey, why?_

I go to the stage entrance before bows so I can catch her on her way out. I don't know what I'll say, but I know I need to see her. Anything to get her out of my head and back to normal.

When she walks out, she seems to be in a hurry. She bumps into my chest and I instantly stiffen. She looks up and her eyes widen. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Finally, she finds her voice. "Christian, I have to go. I need to go. I-" She frantically starts to ramble. She wears the same look I have when I wake up from a nightmare. She's scared.

"What's wrong?" I ask. She shakes her head and pushes me aside with her shoulder. I grab her wrist and attempt to pull her back. I need to know why she's so afraid.

"Stop! Let me go!" She yells. I stop pulling. Why is she freaking out so much? She jerks her arm back and cradles it as if I'd burned her. She turns away and goes to her car, getting in quickly. I stand there as I watch her leave. What just happened? She stops breifly on the street just outside of the lot, but disappears soon after.

I call Taylor and tell him to bring the car around. "Where to, Mr. Grey?" He asks once I'm inside the car.

"Nightshade Club."

 **I'm sorry for not updating. Life has been hectic. I hope this is a good insight to Christian's point of view. Please review and tell me your thoughts!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm going to have a song or two for each chapter. I'll also tell you who it's for (which character).**

 **This one is for Ana:** _ **People Help the People**_ **by Birdy**

 **Christian's POV**

I barely let the car stop before I hopped out. I got into the club within seconds and made my way straight to Elena who sat behind the bar on the far side of the room. She saw me coming and smiled.

"Christian, darling, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to see Anastasia."

Elena nodded and pulled out a paper. She scanned over it and looked back up at me. "She's pretty. What made you choose her?"

"Elena, whaen can I see her."

"She's got a private meeting with her boss right now; an hour maybe. You'll have to have clearance with the boss though. Tonight is her night off."

"Fine, I need to see her."

"Jesus Christian, how long has it been for you?" I give her a death glare. Is this really the first time I've found her annoying? Pulling out a chair at the bar, as far away from Elena as possible, I order a whiskey. I've only got half of it downed in the hour, having a feeling I need to be alert for the following conversation. Elena walks up and tells me the room to go to. Without any other comment, thank god.

I find the door in a dimly lit hallway and knock. A few moments pass when I'm not sure she'll open the door, but I soon hear soft footsteps and the door swings out. In the doorway stands Anastasia with her head down and mascara running down her cheeks. She reaches up and swipes away her tears with the sleeve of her long black silk robe. She finally looks up and her blue eyes widen. "Christian," she whispers. "What are you doing here?"

Not knowing what to say, I shrugged slightly. "I came to see about you." She moves aside from the door and waves her arm for me to come in. I step into the room and see the only furnishing in the room was a king bed with heavy red sheets. I sat on the edge of it and Anastasia came to sit next to me. We sat like that for a while and didn't say anything.

"Why did you freak out earlier tonight?" I asked.

She took a shaky breath and sighed. "I just... I don't..."

"Anastasia-"

"It's Ana. Just Ana"

"Ana." I look over at her. She shifted so her knees were pulled up to her chest and her chin rested on her knees. She has her bottom lip pulled under her teeth. I take a deep breath and run my thumb along her bottom lip, releasing it from her teeth. "I want to help."

She looks up and connects her blue eyes to mine. "Why?" I look at her. Her eyes still shine from unshed tears. Her hair is mussed, but I don't want to know why. Her eyebrows are furrowed, trying to understand. I don't understand either.

I shake my head. "Because." That's about the best I can do. "What can I do to help?"

One stray tear runs down her cheek. "Please, don't leave me here," she says, her voice shaking. I nod and pull out my phone, texting Taylor to bring the car to the back.

"I'm having my car pulled around to the back. Do you need to grab anything?" She nods and tells me she needs to grab somethings from her room upstairs. When she's gone, I can think. I don't know what draws me to her so much. She seems so strong outside, but I wonder just how broken she really is. I stand up as Ana walks back in the room wearing jeans and a fitted purple silk top. She had a bag slung under her arm that looked relatively empty.

"Ready?" I ask, unsure of what to say. She nods, a slight smile gracing her face. Her makeup is fixed and you couldn't tell she'd been crying. How often does she do that? Wipe away the tears and put on a smile.

When we're seated in the car, Ana leans her head against the window and stares out it. "Penny for your thoughts?"

She looks up at me and smiles a little. "Why?" She says simply.

I furrow my brow. "Why what?"

She shakes her head and looks back out the window. "Why everything."

I can tell I'm not going anywhere near what I wnat to know, so I decide to drop the conversation. We ride up the elevator in silence and the tension is thick in the air. When we enter the apartment, Ana's eyes widen. She does a slow spin in the middle of the great room, looking everywhere. Her eyes trail to the floor to ceiling window. She stares at the view and I wonder if she'll ever look away.

I reach out to touch her shoulder. When my hand touches her shoulder, she jerks away hissing through her teeth. "Ow,"

I narrow my eyes. "Anastasia, let me see your shoulder." She gently covers her shoulder with her palm.

"It's fine."

"It's not. Let me see it." She looks back out the window and doesn't move. "Ana." She doesn't budge. I move behind her and slip my fingers under the neckline and begin to pull it down off her shoulder. She doesn't protest, but turns around so she's facing me, head downcast. I pull her sleeve until I can see her bare shoulder. Red teeth marks stand out against her pale skin. Bleeding had stopped, but it had been bleeding before.

"Good god." I said, brushing my fingers against her shoulder.

"Pretty isn't it."

"Who did this, Ana?"

"A real gentleman." I pull out my phone and text Taylor to get Doctor Greene scheduled for a morning appointment. Ana brings up her head and looks at me. I touch her shoulder again, horrified with whoever would do this. I lead her into the kitchen and get a washcloth damp to press against her shoulder.

"Did a lovely job, didn't he. Some men are real skillful when it comes to causing pain." I freeze, halfway across the kitchen. What would she think if I showed her what I did with women. I shake the thought out of my head and focus on the matter at hand. When Ana is seated at one of the chairs at the breakfast bar, I get a washcloth from one of the drawers and hold it under the faucet.

"Why come with me? You have family don't you?"

"No. I don't have any family." When I sit next to her at the bar, she looks at me. "I've never had someone like you be nice to me before."

I press the cloth to her shoulder ans she jumps a little, hissing through her teeth. "I'm sorry." After a sew slow strokes of the washcloth, I ask her what happened to her family.

"I was never close with my mom. She died in a car accident years ago. My biological dad died before I was born. I didn't know much about him. Mom never liked to bring him up. My step dad Ray died five years ago from an illness that the doctors couldn't figure out. The bank took all of his things to cover the medical bill, leaving me with nothing." She looked straight ahead as she explained. Her eyes unfocused as she talked as though she couldn't talk about it without zoning out. "I was eighteen and expected to find my own way. Nothing to pay with college for, so I had to drop out. I was on the streets for weeks."

"You didn't have a job?"

"No job would take me with lack of experience and no degree. So I gave the only thing I had left. Me." Something in my ches started to hurt. If this was a broked heart, I get why people don't like them. I always thought a broken heart was all in your head, but I know now,.

"You should stay here until you find something else." I say. _Or forever_ , I think. She looks into my eyes. Hers full of hope.

"You'd let me stay here?" I furrow my brow. Why is she so surprised? She needs help.

I nod. "Of course."

When she's settled in a guest room, I go to my room and sit on the edge of my bed. I never found out why she was so jumpy at the theatre. She dodged the question when I asked. She never told me who hurt her either. 'A real gentleman,' she said. I'm sure that whoever it was is the reason she was freaked out.

I _will_ find out who it is.


	6. Chapter 6

**HEYYYYY! I'm back! And I also changed the title. I just think this is a little , I love all of your reviews! Like, a lot! Anybody who wants to leave some constructive criticism, please, please, please do! I enjoy reading those and bettering my story!**

 **Ana's Song:** _ **You Never Know**_ **from If/Then**

 **Ana's POV**

I lay in the bed in the darkness and stared at the ceiling. There were no cracks to count like the ceiling of my room. I found that I missed the distraction. Instead, I thought of the man who let me into his home without even knowing me. I could be a mass murderer for all he knows. I smile and turn onto my side to look out at the amazing view instead of the dull grey of the ceiling. He was just being nice right? Then again, how many nice people would just let someone like me...

I groan. Why do I do this? Obsess and debate. I can't ever do anything without asking 'why' or 'what if'. I've done forever. Even before this living hell of a life. Not that it matters that I do. No matter what I ask; no matter how cautious I am, most of my choices turn out to be wrong. I close my eyes. What if I don't find a job? What if he changes his mind about me? What if I leave? My mind drifted off with hundreds of 'what ifs'.

If I only want your dough,  
I might be on the lamb or on the dole  
Of my meds or my nut or on parole  
Or even worse, I might be someone who  
Is meant for you  
And maybe that's the thing to lay you low  
You never know  
If I'm a drunkard or a dullard

to callous or to clever  
Or if I might just be the man who's meant to be with you forever  
You never know  
You never ever know

I put in my earbuds and put on a song from one of my favorite musicals. Music is my painkiller. If it doesn't work, nothing will. The words echoed in my head. Christian didn't even know who I was. He was risking a ton just by letting me spend the night. Letting me stay until I find a new job... That's insane.I fell asleep listening to the melody.

" _Ana! Ana!"_

"Ana!" I bolt up. A figure is on the edge of my bed. It was to big to be Kate. I gasp and push him away quickly, hitting my shoulder on the headboard by accident. Pain shoots down my arm. I moan and drop down into the pillow, waiting for the punches and the abuse that I would get from pushing him. I've learned it's better not to plead. It just makes things worse.

"Ana, are you okay?" A thumb swipes some of the soaked hair away from my forehead. Christian! I slow my breathing enough to be somewhat normal again. I sit up and take more deep breaths, not totally feeling safe yet. I look out the window and see that it's still dark out. The side table clock reads 3:15.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." I said, hugging myself.

"No, it's okay. I ... wasn't asleep." I knit my brows together, searching for an answer. He seemed hesitant to tell me. "I have them too. Nightmares." My eyes widen considerably. What would he have nightmares about?

"What do you do when you have them?" He shrugs.

"Don't go back to sleep. Play piano. It helps." I've never thought of playing an instrument. Then again, I can't play any.

"I don't usually go back to sleep either."

I see him smile and my heart jumps at being able to do so. I've never seen him smile. "Then we can stay up together." He says. He offered his hand as he stands up. I take it and he pulls me out of bed with him. We walk to the kitchen and he gets out two mugs.

"Is hot chocolate alright?" I smile and nod. He fills a pot with water and puts it on the stove. I realize this is the first time I've seen him completely at ease. Christian sits next to me and rests his head in the crook of his arm on the breakfast bar. His hair is still mussed from sleep and sticking every which way. I smile. He's so beautiful.

We drink our hot chocolate in a comfortable silence. When we're done, he leads me to the couch in the great room and sits with me. We talk. I don't remember what about. The whole of the time I was watching him. When my eyes began to feel heavy, he noticed and pulled me against his chest. I felt him stiffen at first, but soon enough, he relaxed against me. I let my eyes close and my breathing slow.

The next morning, I wake up with the sun in my eyes. I look up to Christian who is still asleep. I smile and see we're still on the couch. I sit up and run my hand through my hair. Christian stirs next to me.

"Good morning."

"Good morning." I giggle.

He arches an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." I said. He stands up and as he does, the elevator opens. A woman in her late thirties walks into the apartment.

"Good morning Mr. Grey." She says while continuing to walk to the kitchen. Her eyes catch sight of me and widen.

"Miss..."

"Hi. I'm Anastasia Steele."

"Ana, this is Miss Jones, my housekeeper."

She looks us up and down. I realize what we must look like with our hair messy and our clothes disheveled from sleep. "I can come back later if..." She trails off.

"No. We just fell asleep while we were talking last night." Christian smirked as he led me out of the great room, knowing full well what Miss Jones had been thinking. We both go to our rooms to change. I stand in the shower and take a deep breath as I feel the hot water massage my skin. It feels so good to not have to rush to shower. After I get out of the shower, I slip on a tee shirt from one of my shows and a pair of jeans. Looking in the mirror, I tame my hair enough so that it looks somewhat respectable.

As I enter the kitchen, I see that Christian isn't there yet. Miss Jones stands at the stove making pancakes. I smile and get a glass out of the cupboard that I saw Christian take the mug out of last night. I open the fridge and grab the carton of milk.

"Let me do that dear." Miss Jones says, wiping her hands on her apron.

I shake my head and giggle. "Do you do everything in the kitchen for him?" I ask. When she gives me a look that says 'maybe', I just laugh. "I can get my own milk."

Hands slip around my waist and cover my hands as they pour the milk. I giggle as his hands take the glass and bring it to my lips. After taking a sip, he puts the glass down and sits me down at the island.

After breakfast, Christian leaves for work, leaving me to entertain myself. I find my ipod in my bag and turn it to You Never Know. I smile and put the song on repeat.


	7. Chapter 7

**The song for this chapter will be** _ **Snow White Queen **__**by**_ _ **Evanescense**_ **. Enjoy!**

 **Christian's POV**

On the way to work I think about lastnight. Ana had completely covered my chest and it hadn't felt painful. It fel slightly uncomfortable - perhaps from my chest having not been touched for years - but beyond that, it felt nice. I could have stayed that way forever.

There were no nightmares either. I haven't gone forever without a nightmare, and in one night, I suddenly don't have any just because I'm with someone. I don't know what this is supposed to mean, all I know is this calls for a lengthy meeting with Flynn.

Taylor looks through the mirror with some concern, but stays silent. One of the reasons I respect Taylor; he knows when not to speak. When I get up to my office, Andrea gives me a full rundown of the day ahead.

The first meeting is with Ginnifer Bradley, the manager of the theatre. The deal was easily closed within forty-five minutes. She was eager to be able to have the theatre be better supported and the performers be able to do more complex shows. As I walk out of the meeting, I wonder if I should tell Ana. What would she think? I try to push thoughts of her away to keep me from being distracted.

As soon as I'm seated at my desk, my phone rings. I sigh and pick it up.

"Grey." I snap.

"Sir," Taylor pauses, hesitant.

"What is it Taylor?"

"Sir, Dr. Greene went to Escala," I stand and look out the window, running my hand through my hair.

"What happened? What did she say about Ana?"

"Sir, Ana wasn't there. She asked Miss Jones where she was. She didn't know either." My eyes widen. She left?

"Get the car ready. _Now_." I snap, before hanging up. I call Andrea into my office. Why would she leave? I comb through my memory, to give me any indicator as to why she would've gone. What if something happens to her?

"Mr. Grey?" I look up to the door.

"Cancel my meetings for today." She looks at me, confused.

"Mr. Grey, are you - "

I slam my hand on my desk. "Cancel them!" I say between my gritted teeth. Why doesn't she fucking listen? Nodding slowly, she closes the door. I grab my phone and head to the elevator, ignoring all of the curious and confused glances I get.

 **Ana's POV**

The moment I walk through the back door, Kate sees me and rushes to meet me. Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows were high. I caught her before she barreled into me.

"Where were you last night? Hyde had a fit when he found you gone."

"I- Christian-" I couldn't find a way to explain this situation without making it sound insane. "I'm staying with Christian for a while." I say slowly, being careful about my word choice. Kate's eyes widen even more than seems possible. She breathes in, short of words for a moment.

"Ana, do you know what Hyde will do to you? You could lose your job." I knew I would lose my job, but after I left, Hyde couldn't do anything more to me. I offer Kate a weak smile as she leads me up to my room. I want to tell her all that's happened, but if I don't get back to Escala soon, Christian will kill me. I can tell, by how protective he is, he would be mad at me for even thinking of coming back here. I had to wait until Gail was out of the kitchen and the great room so I could leave. I didn't want her to tell Christian I'd left.

"I'm staying with him until I find a new job." I tell her quietly. She throws out one of her Cheshire cat smiles. I roll my eyes, knowing exactly what Kate was thinking.

"Personal-" I cut her off before my ears hear something they'll regret.

"Nothing is going on, Kate. He's just being nice." Kate looks at me worriedly. She sits in the one chair that sits in the corner of the room. Kate fiddles with her fingers and looks off, thinking.

"Kate?" She looks at me.

"Just be careful, okay?" She gives me a tiny smile. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to our Ana. Jose would die. Too bad you're being pursued by a sexy as hell billionaire. That's tough competition." I roll my eyes. Kate has had a long time theory that Jose has been crushing on me. Kate had been friends with him forever and we'd gone to a few clubs together for fun.

She sees my eye roll and replies. "Oh, right. You have a thing for Nathan, I forgot."

I throw a pillow at her. "Apparently, I'm not allowed to have _just_ friends who are the opposite gender anymore."

"Nope." she says, hopping up. "Now, we have to pick some clothes for you. We have to impress Grey, so I'm _definitely_ not leaving you to pack by yourself."

"Thanks Kate." I say sarcastically.

"Welcome!" She smiled before disappearing into my closet.

After about two hours of trying on, taking off, holding, comparing, and matching, Kate finally decides she's satisfied with she small travel case she'd packed most of. She smiled, kissed me on the cheek, and left me to grab a few more things, claiming she had a client. I know she doesn't. Nobody's that excited to have a client. As I ponder over the possibilities of her being so excited, I start to browse through my small book collection, most of which I found at library giveaways and garage sales.

A knock sounds on the door frame. I look up and see Jack standing against the door frame with a cool expression. I know when he looks calm are the times when he is the most angry; the most dangerous.

"Jack." I say as he walks into the room and stalks toward me. He glances over to the travel case that sits open and full of clothes on the bed.

"You weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye were you?" He asked, coming around behind me, and clasping his hand around my throat. I feel my heart speed up as he yanks me by the neck to the bed and throws me down, kicking the door shut on his way. I hit one of my ribs on the corner of the travel case and groan. Jack pushed the case of the bed and it landed with a thump on the floor.

" _Were_ you, Anastasia?" He re-wrapped his hand around my throat and pushed me into the mattress. I coughed as my air pipe began to be blocked off. Drawing breaths had become much more trying. I groan out the word 'no'. He releases my neck and slaps my cheek. Hard. The hardest he's ever.

"Where were you last night?" He asks as I grasp my throat and gulp down deep breaths between coughs. He growls and pushes me off the bed. I hit the floor on my head and moan. Pain blinds my vision and fills all of my senses. _'Stop, stop, stop'_ is all I can think.

"Answer me!" he yells. I feel a fist hit the same spot that got hit by the travel case. He pulls me by my shoulder roughly so I face the ceiling. His awful face hovers over me. I close my eyes, and turn my head, hoping that this will all just end soon.

Suddenly I feel his lips near my ear. "I meant what I said" He growled, "When I said if it happened again, it would happen to a dead girl." Another blow was dealt to my ribs. I feel tears run down my cheek as he continues with his ministrations.

"Leave her alone."I heard a voice demand through the haze of pain that looms over my senses. I feel the weight of Jack lifted off of me and feel my head being lifted into a lap.

"And who are you to tell me what I do to my whores?"

"If you dare touch her again, I _will_ make sure your establishment never has business again." Christian says to him. I feel his hands cradle my head to him and I could feel his stomach move as he breathed. I blinked my eyes a few times to rid the tears and saw Taylor push Jack out of the room none too gently.

Christian's hand cradled my cheek. "Are you alright?" He said softly. _No._ I don't answer and curl into a ball, letting his hand slip away. I instantly miss it, but make no attempt to move from this protective pose. Christian wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. I squeeze my eyes shut as I attempt to stop more tears that rush to my eyes, unused to a gentle touch.

He picks me up off the floor and my body relaxes into his strong arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder as he carries me out of the room. "Wait."I say weakly, my throat still hoarse. "My clothes."

"We'll buy you some new clothes." he says.

"Kate spent two hours picking them out." I counter, barely able to keep my eyes open long enough to argue.

"I'll send Taylor to get them." After a few more seconds, my body starts to wake back up. I reach out and feel my head. Pulling my hand away, I see it covered in red. I cry out quietly. Christian takes my hand and holds it so I am unable to see it again. I look up at him, but his face starts to spin. I open my mouth to say something, but blackness eats away my vision.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Don't kill me pease! I know I told some of you that I'll most likely post every week. And that's true, the last few weeks have been ridiculously busy. Also I'm RPing a story in between writing this, so yeah. I'm super glad for all of you who've been sticking with this story and also for any new readers! I hope you like this story enough to stick with it a little longer!**

 **The song for this chapter is:** _ **Runnin'**_ **by** _ **Adam Lambert**_

 **Christian's POV**

Ana's head was cradled in my lap on the way to ther hospital. I pressed a towel to her head, hoping to get the blood to stop running, but it didn't. She was losing a lot of blood and it was making her look extremely pale. Her breathing was becoming more ragged the longer we drove. As soon as we got to the hospital, Taylor quickly opened the backseat door.

I shot out and to the front desk. "She needs to see a doctor." I say, nodding my head to Ana, who lay across my arms still unconscious. The nurse looks at Ana concernedly and nods before picking up the phone to page a doctor.

"Doctor Grey, how is your patient?" She paused, listening before speaking again. "Good. We have a girl here that needs to see a doctor, quickly." The woman nodded and set the phone back in its holster.

"Doctor Grey will see her now." A stretcher pushed by two nurses was wheled up to lay Ana on. I put her onto the stretcher and watched as they wheeled her into the emergeny room. My mother was going to help her. I took a deep breath and ran my hands through my hair, pacing back and forth in the waiting room. What if Ana didn't recover? I didn't know how much blood she'd lost, and I didn't know how bad her injuries were.

Two hours later, mother walkis into the waiting room. She sees me and her eyebrows furrow. "Christian?" I walk to her and kiss her cheek.

"Mother. How is Ana?" She looks at me even more confusedly.

"You brought her? Christian, what happened to her? She has so many injuries everywhere. Two of her ribs are broken and she's lost way too much blood."

"Will she be okay?" I don't bother masking the concern that weaves thickly through my question. It isn't my place to tell her what happened, and I don't think Ana would want me to. We'll still have to have a talk about this. _Grey, what are you talking about? You aren't her boyfriend..._ Then it hit's me. I _do_ want to be her boyfriend. I _want_ her to stay with me. I _want_ to keep her safe. I _want_ her to have everything. I don't want her to be a sub. Taking care of a sub is more of an obligation, with Ana, I just want to. I want her to be happy to be with me.

Grace looks at me with worry before answering. "She's in a coma right now." My heart stopped for a few moments before my mother quickly continued. "She lost too much blood. Her body shut itself down because of some nearly vital damage. She should be out soon, but she'll be weak and we'll need to monitor her heart rate."

"Do whatever you need. Just don't let her..." My throat constricted. I couldn't get the word out.

Grace's eyes widened. "No! Of course she won't!" Grace kissed my cheek. "She won't." She said, looking me in the eye. Leaving me standing in the waiting room, she disappeared back down the closed off hallway.

 **(Time Skip to Two Days Later)**

I rubbed my chin. Stubble scratched at the tips of my fingers. My legs ached from sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair that sat next to Ana's bed. It had been a couple of days since I'd left the hospital. The first night, I went to Escala late at night to try and sleep, but I couldn't. I kept having nightmares of Ana not waking up. After a few hours of restless sleep, I finally came back to the hospital to check on Ana. I couldn't leave. Something horrible would happen, if I left. That's the excuse I told myself. A sad excuse really.

My phone rang for the third time in the last hour. I picked it up off of the side table and glanced at the screen. Ros. She'd been all over the place, trying to fill in for me and perform her own duties. I'd done what I could on my phone, but there's only so much you can do. Ignoring the call, I set my phone back on the table and lean in closer to Ana.

"Come on baby, you can wake up." The phone continues to ring. I brush a hand over Ana's forhead. "See? Ros wants you to wake up too." Ana's face shows no signs of hearing what I say, nor any signs of waking. Seeing Ana lie in the hospital bed, drives me crazy. I lay my forhead on the pillow next to her head and whisper.

"Please Ana. Wake up. For me. For Kate." I'd met Katherine when she was rushing into the hospital with Elliot. She'd been almost, if not, frantic to find Ana. When the hospital called, she about lost it, Elliot said.

A knock on the door roused me from my thoughts. Speak of the devil.

"Hey bro." Elliot said quietly. "How is she?" He pulled up a chair next to me and sat backwards on it.

"No change." I say as I lower my had back into the pillow.

"What is she like?" I hear Elliot ask. I look up at him. "Ana. If she's got you this torn up, she's got to be amazing." I heave in a breath and pull myself out of the chair to go look out of the window. If I'm going to talk about Ana, I can't look at her while I am. To talk about such a charismatic person and see them lie in a bed attached to five machines. It kills me.

"She is. She's just... She's just special."

"She must be." Elliot smiled at me as I turned to face him. "I've never seen you so far from your element. Cold, calm, and collected." I ran my hands through my hair.

"I know." Was all I replied with. Maybe Elliot was right. I'm not acting like myself. I'm not going to work. I haven't shaved. I've barely slept. I've barely eaten... the list goes on and on. Maybe I should just stop while I'm ahead. Get Ana into a good position and never see her again. It would save me all of the confusion. Fuck, I need to talk to Flynn.

I don't do this. Any of this. I don't dote over unconcious girls. I don't do relationships. I'm not hearts and flowers. I leave all of that sappy shit to other people. Normal people. Elliot stands, announcing that he has to get back to work. I nod.

After he leaves, I grab my coat. I almost make it all the way to the door without glancing at Ana. Then I do, and my heart breaks. Turning back to the door, I shake my head. No. On the way to GEH, I call Ros.

"I'm coming in. Have the next meeting set up when I walk in the doors."


	9. Chapter 9

**The song for this chapter is:** _ **Chasing Pavements**_ **by** _ **Adele**_

 **Kate's POV**

Elliot started as a normal customer. No strings, no attachments. He wasn't like everyone else was. Sure he knew what he wanted, but he wasn't a complete asshole about it. For the majority of the evening that he'd bought me for, he was quite the gentleman. He didn't simply tell you what to do and expect it to be done in seconds flat. He considered it a consensual act. That we both should agree on the activities that followed.

His looks didn't hurt either.

He started coming regularly on Friday nights, specifically asking for me. I attempted to keep myself professional and detached, but it had begun to be hard. In this business, one had to be cold. You couldn't feel for anyone. It was all an act and nothing more. Still, he didn't try very hard to stay away either. So I figured we were even.

Jesus, if Hyde found out that she had any feelings for anyone, she would get the beating of her life. He was always careful to not leave permanent marks, but he was known to get carried away. I hadn't seen it happen, but I definitely didn't want to.

The day that Ana came back to Nightshade, she seemed happier. Not a whole lot, but being her friend since… forever, I could see the difference. When she told me it was Christian she was staying with, I could hardly believe it. I couldn't schedule a teensy interview with him and he invites Ana to stay with him.

Still, I couldn't help but be worried for her. It would kill me to see her get hurt because someone was nice to her and turned right around and ripped her heart out. What am I saying? I'm such a hypocrite.

As soon as I was finished helping pick Ana's clothes out and bid her goodbye, I called Elliot. "Hey, gorgeous." He said into the phone.

I attempted to contain my laugh. "Hi Elliot. I'm ready now, if you're still set on me tonight." I say.

"Of course, baby. I've already cleared your evening. Jesus your pimp is a bitch. She kept trying to get more and more money out of me. Don't worry though, it'll all be worth it."

I laughed at him. He said everything like it was all some monumental joke. I liked that about him. He never got to overly worked up or angry.

* * *

Elliot picked me up and we sped away from the club. It lifted a kind of weight from my chest. It was so easy being with Elliot. I didn't have to pretend or act around him like I did with everybody else. I just hoped he wouldn't be afraid of me, being what I am.

We pull up into the driveway of a fancy looking restaurant and suddenly I'm worried I'm underdressed in my green sundress. I look at him worriedly as he hands the keys to the valet and opens my door for me. Seeing my expression, he pulls me to him and kisses my cheek. "You look wonderful, baby." I smile, letting my fear melt away.

About halfway through dinner, my phone begins to ring. I look at Elliot to make sure it was alright if I checked my phone. He nodded, shrugging his shoulders with a small smile.

"Is this Katherine Kavanagh?" An unfamiliar voice asks.

"Yes, this is she." I say. My eyebrows pull together and Elliot shoots me a look of concern from across the table.

"You're the emergency contact for a Miss Anastasia Steele. She was brought into the ER about a half an hour ago. She seems to have suffered from some kind of beating. She's covered in bruises and small cuts as well as some internal damage.

My eyes widen and Elliot is up and next to me already.

"Okay. Thank you for contacting me. I'll be there shortly." I try to keep my voice as unwavering as possible, but it shakes still.

"What happened?" Elliot asks.

My eyes fill with unshed tears and I stand from my seat. "Ana's in the hospital. We need to go." Elliot, seeing my haste to get out of the restaurant and get to the hospital, lays two hundred dollar bills on the table and ushers me out.

"Thank you." I say as we wait for the valet to bring his car around. "I'm sorry about dinner."

"That's alright. It was worth it, remember?" Elliot says to me playfully, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. I do my best to smile at his attempt to make me laugh.

 **Ana's POV**

My eyes adjusted to the bright light as I woke up. I was confused. My room was never this bright, I always had my curtains closed. I sat up and found my head spinning and pounding the moment I did. Laying back down slowly and carefully, I placed my head on the pillow. Every time I moved, my skull felt like it was going to implode.

Closing my eyes, I assessed the damage that my body had undertaken, working from the bottom up. Nothing hurt when I wiggled my toes or moved my legs, but as soon as I tried to move my torso, it screamed in protest. Something was definitely wrong with my torso. My arms felt fine, other than a little bit achy. Some bruises maybe. My head hurt the worst. I had a massive headache that felt like it would never leave.

Next, I tried to think around the pain that was banging in my head. Where was I? It smelled like medicine. Like a hospital. I'd never remembered having such a severe beating from Hyde. He'd always been sure to be able to hid the evidence of his blows. And definitely it was never as bad as I wouldn't be able to work.

A hand was on my forehead, and I heard a voice. "Can you hear me, Anastasia?" The voice asked. I nodded with some effort, but kept my eyes closed. "Do you think you can open your eyes for me?" I groaned as my eyes met the harsh lighting above me. I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut again.

"Where's Christian?" I ask with some difficulty. My tongue feels like sandpaper and the back of my throat is dry as a desert.

"I don't know."She paused, seemingly hesitant. "He left a few days ago." I tried to open my eyes again, this time succeeding. Despite the pain of the blinding light shooting straight to my already pounding head, I kept them open. The woman above me smiled. It instantly made me feel warmer in the cold antiseptic room. The welcoming air about her was inviting. My head pounded in angry protest of the white light above her and the effort of being conscious. My ribs also hurt almost every time I took a breath.

I close my eyes again to try to escape the pain, both physical and mental. He left. I know he was here. There was an electricity that I've only ever felt with him. It was the only thing I remember while being asleep. But why did he leave? Maybe I was overthinking things. I didn't really know Christian. He was only being nice in any case; there were no feelings involved. It was just that. My heart sinks at the blatant truth.

What was the point then? I had no real home. No family. No one who really cared. Memories of being onstage in front of a crowd fill my mind. The feeling of my heart pounding in my chest right after I complete a dance or a song. The feeling of just being enveloped in a story that wasn't my own. That was the sole point, my mind told me. In the back of my mind, the thought of Christian nags at me. And yet, it seems impossible that he could be a reason at all.

 **Christian's POV**

When my mother called me and told me that Anastasia had woken up, I wanted badly to go to the hospital to make sure she was alright, but I didn't. I needed to stay away so that I could get my priorities back in order. When I'd gotten back to work, there were multiple things that needed immediate attention before they fell apart. It was amazing how utterly stupid some people were capable of being.

In the middle of a meeting, I found myself drifting to thoughts of Anastasia. Her body, her smile. She had an innocence surrounding her despite her line of work. Like she had no clue how alluring she was.

"Mr. Grey?" One of the people around the table asked cautiously. I focused back on the meeting. I need a sub. To get Ana out of my system. Something at least to distract.

After the meeting, my mother called. "Mother," I said, attempting to keep the worry out of my voice. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Christian. Her heartbeat has picked back up. If she shows a better physical reaction, she'll most likely be discharged in about a week." I ignored how my heart sped up as she said those words.

"Thank you for calling me." There was a pause.

"Do you care for her?" There was a note of hope in her voice that easily shone through.

"I'm just helping her out of a fix. Once she's better, I let her be."

"Oh."

"I have to go mother, I'll speak to you later." After we exchanged goodbyes, I hung up. Next thing, I dialed Elena's number.

"I need a sub. Just for tonight. No strings."

 **Okay, so you all officially have permission to murder me. I know I sucked at getting this up. Every time I sat down to write, I just couldn't, and I didn't want to force a crappy chapter upon you.**

 **Once more, I'd just like to say thank you with all of my heart to the follows, favorites and reviews for this story. I'm sincerely grateful to all of you who stick by me in this story.**

 **Love you all! You ROCK!**

 **Phantasma'sRose**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everybody! I felt bad about leaving you for so long from the last chapter that I wanted to start this one right away!**

 **Christian's POV**

This was one of the only times I was grateful for Elena. She knew exactly what I wanted and had no trouble getting the contracts set up and signed quickly. I was pacing the great room when the elevator dinged, indicating someone's arrival.

My tension was at its max, and I told myself that this is what I needed. The moment the woman walked into the room, she directed her eyes to the floor. Her brown hair was already in a long braid down her back and her black dress barely covered her ass. Usually, this would have set me off right away, but I couldn't even bring myself to feel excited.

I walked to her and lifted her chin. "You may look at me." Her eyes lifted and I saw that they were disappointingly, brown. They didn't even begin to compare to Ana's blue eyes. I shook my head, attempting to clear my mind of her. "What's your name?"

"Lucy, sir."

"You've signed the contract?" The woman nodded, but said not words.

"Good." I led her to the playroom and unlocked it, showing her in. "Undress and kneel there. Leave your panties on." I pointed to a spot near the door. "I'll be back in twenty minutes." She immediately began to obey as I walked out and to my room. As I did, I passed the sub room. Ana's things were still strewn across the bed where she slept her first and only night here. I remember feeling guilty that I didn't have a normal guest room that she could sleep in and that she had to sleep there, but it couldn't be helped.

I closed the door to the room. Going down into the kitchen, I found Mrs. Jones and asked her to clean Ana's things out of the room and to put them in mine. I'd give them to her later. After taking a quick shower to soothe my frazzled nerves and putting on my old Levis, I went back up into the playroom.

Lucy was kneeling right where I told her to. Her eyes were downcast and she was undressed to her panties. "Stand." She stood. "Come here." She turned and walked to me, not daring to raise her head. I walked around her, inspecting her, deciding where I would want her first, but my mind flashed to Ana lying against me on the couch and laughing, her voice heavily sedated with sleepiness.

I took Lucy's hand and led her to the four-post bed. After getting her to lay on the bed on her stomach, I put her wrists in cuffs as well as her ankles. I saw Ana in her bed, crying out and thrashing in her sleep. She was having a nightmare. I pressed my eyes shut and growled, unlatching the cuffs.

"Go."I told her. Lucy pulled her brows together.

"Sir-"

"Get dressed, and leave. I'll have Elena give you your money."

"Yes, Mr. Grey." She got up and dressed quickly at the tone of my voice.

When Lucy left, I groaned and took another shower. This one longer. As the hot water ran over my back muscles, I took a deep breath and leaned against the tiled wall. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, trying to remove any traces of tiredness there. After the week of barely any sleep, my eyes constantly felt heavy. I just wanted one fucking night of sleep. The water turned cold, so I turned it off and dried off, slipping into my bed and idly wondering about how the one night on the couch with Ana, neither of us had nightmares. 'It was merely a coincidence' my tired mind told me.

 **Ana's POV**

*timeskip*

I tried my hardest to fight off any sickness and get out of the hospital fast. The doctors said it was an amazing recovery. Dr. Grey visited me about once a day. Kate stayed there a majority of her free time. Hyde hadn't said a word about any of it, which made me sick to my stomach. Whenever anybody asked what happened, I had to act like I didn't remember. Not only because of me, but he could do the same to Kate if he got angry with me. He knows how close we are.

Around a week had passed since I had first woken up and I almost made a full recovery. My ribs still ached, but my bruises had disappeared and the scratches had almost faded away. Dr. Grey came in my room in the mid morning. She told me that I could be discharged in the afternoon, as long as my final checkup passed.

Before she left, I called out to her. "Wait! Dr. Grey!"

She turned to me and smiled. "Yes, Ana?"

"Don't," I took a breath and leaned my head back onto my pillow. "Don't tell Christian that I'm to be discharged today."

"Why ever not?" She still smiled, but her expression was confused.

"Because-" _I'm damaged. He's perfect. That's why_. I closed my eyes and turned my head away. "Just- Please, don't."

"If you're sure…" Her voice trailed off. She was worried, but at least she wouldn't tell Christian. I felt awful thinking about it. He was so kind to a common whore, and I had nothing to give back.

"Thank you." I stayed with my face away from her as a tear fell from my eye, but I was determined for her not to see me cry. She hummed an affirmation and left the room, leaving me to wipe my tear away.

When I was discharged, I left as soon as I got my old clothes. All I had to do was sign some papers. Hyde always payed for all of his girls hospital bills, since he never payed any of us enough that we could. Upon leaving, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Kate.

"Ana?" Kate asked worried.

"Kate, I'm leaving." The tears were thick in my voice as I told her. I couldn't stay here another moment. There were too many horrid memories and too many good ones that I couldn't face.

"What?! Ana, where will you go?" She tried to talk me out of it. "You haven't the money to be-"

"Goodbye Kate." I sobbed into the phone. After I got my tears under control, I wiped them away quickly. Still hiccuping slightly, I hailed a cab to take me to the bank since my car was still at the club and there was no way I was going there.

I drew all of the money I had out of my account and closed it. When I got back into the cab, I told the driver to go to the airport. On the way there, I gazed out the window. It was raining again. When was it not? It always matched my mood in any case.

The flight to New York felt longer as it droned on. The sun peeked around from the clouds a few times, but it did nothing to improve my mood. I wondered what everyone back in Seattle was doing. I never did know what was going on with Elliot and Kate. She said it was never a very clear line between them about what their relationship was.

When we hit ground, I left the plane and first thing went to a library. I had spent almost a fourth of my savings on the plane ticket, so I had to be sparing now. Now armed with a new library card, I went to a computer and logged in for some time. I searched for the only thing I could do. Lucky for me, there were open auditions for Jekyll and Hyde for a traveling show. Meals and traveling as well as housing were paid for if you earned a role in it, so now, I could only hope.

It was dark when I left the library, but I quickly walked to a nearby junk shop and bought a blanket and a backpack to put all of my things in. My standard duffel was still at Christian's apartment.

I was trained from my earlier years where I had to survive on the street. Luckily, it was only late spring, so it wasn't to cold out. If it was much colder, I would've looked for a shelter, but for now, I would wait.

Later that night, my phone dings. I open it, finding Christian's name flashing across the screen. I blinked the tears out of my eyes. When did he put his number in my phone? I accept the call with a shaking hand and hold it to my ear.

"Ana." He sounded angry. I said nothing. "Ana, damnit, answer me!" I choke on a sob and hang up quickly.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! So I know one of you is worried about how long it'll take before Christian and Ana's relationship starts and that the story is dragging. Personally, I don't think it's dragging all that much as she's known Christian for a maximum of three days and almost knows nothing about him, Also there's Hyde that she's running from and she's just generally super confused about her life right now. This was a guest reviewer, but for anybody else who is wondering things about this, they might want to sit back and have some patience. People don't fall in love in two weeks. Especially if for a week and a half of it they were in a hospital. Also, he didn't have sex with "some tramp." If you'll notice, he was feeling to much about Ana to even come close to any kind of sexual play with the sub.**

 **The song for this chapter is:** _ **Please Don't Make Me Love You**_ **from** _ **Dracula the**_

 _ **Musical**_ ***Kate Shindle is my favorite singer for that song***

 **Ana's POV**

I looked up at the tall building. It was the morning of the audition and my heart was beating fast. I couldn't get myself under control. I'd never auditioned for any kind of traveling show. I'd only ever been in the local shows. That didn't stop me from walking into the lobby.

The receptionist told me which floor to go to and I slipped into the elevator, pressing the button.

"Hold the doors!" Someone shouted from outside. I slipped my hand out, causing the doors to open again. A young woman with red hair stepped into the elevator, smiling brightly at me. "Hello!" She glanced at the buttons and nodded. "You're auditioning too?" She asked, still smiling. I nodded and smiled back. She was so bubbly and happy, it was almost impossible to not smile back.

"I am."

"Who are you aiming for?" She asked curiously.

I shrugged. "Anyone really. Even a chorus member would be awesome."

"I'm auditioning for Emma. She's awesome. Oooh, if you get Lucy and I get Emma, we can even sing a song together!" The elevator dinged and opened into a large studio with hardwood flooring and a ribbon mirror along one wall. "I'm America, by the way. What's your name?"

"Ana." I replied. She smiled at me and left the elevator. I entered the room and saw that a bunch of people were already there. My heart did not slow.

"Okay people! We'll do vocals first and then we'll do dance right afterward. Everybody turn your applications into the man over at the piano. That is Simon, he'll be our music director for the show. Over there is Mariah. She is our lovely dance director. And I am Chris, the director. Any questions, you can ask any of us. Let's get this show on the road!"

I made my way to the piano and handed my application to Simon, who smiled back at me. That eased me a little bit. Everybody here seemed nice.

We sat in the foldout chairs in front of the piano waiting for our names to be called. Luckily, it was by order of last name, so I was one of last few.

"America Glade!" I watched as America stood and went to Simon, giving him the music and breezing through her song. It made me a little nervous.

"Anastasia Steele!" Simon called, reading my name off of my paper. I smiled, looking a lot calmer than I felt. I gave him the sheet music that I'd printed off at the library and stood next to the piano, taking a deep breath.

" _I'm not sure I can go through all the joy and the pain. Much better now to let these dreams take flight. Please don't make me love you. Please don't make me need you. Simplify my life just by setting me free. Promise me you'll do this. Only you can do this. Please don't make me love you, unless you love me."_

I decided that I'd done a decent job when I sat down. I kept my eyes down, not wanting to see anybody else's reactions.

America nudged me. "You did really good!" She whispered to me. I smiled weakly at her.

"I hope so."

The audition finished in early afternoon. We were all told that they would call us the next day for callbacks. People slowly trickled out of the room. America and I went down together. "You wanna grab lunch? It's on me!" She bounced. "Please!"

I smiled. There was no way I could say no. "Alright."

Halfway through our lunch at a little deli we found down the street from the audition location, I felt it. The same feeling I felt that night on the stage. Like I was being watched. I quickly brought my eyes to the door and say Christian's furious grey eyes looking right back from the doorway.

I swallowed the bite that I had just taken and my eyes flickered back to America when she asked me a question. "What's wrong?" She craned her head around to see what I was looking at. She smiled and turned to me, apparently missing the anger in his eyes. "Ooh, is he your boyfriend? He's hot." She giggled when I kicked her under the table.

"I'll be right back." I said, slowly getting up from our booth and making my way to the door. When I reached him, he pulled my hand out the door. followed with no attempt at protesting, knowing it would make no difference in the long run.

"Anastasia." He said sternly, taking my shoulders firmly in his hands. "You just left? How could you after-" I raised my eyebrows, unsure of where he was taking this. He stopped and took his hands away, beginning to pace and run his hands through his hair. "Do you know all of the things that could have gone wrong? Hyde could have gotten to you before I did. You could've been back at that place that you call _work_." he spat. I flinched at his tone and the insinuation of Nightshade or worse, Hyde.

"I wasn't going to stay in Seattle. Not now. There's too much… pain." Christian's eyes had softened somewhat. Some of the anger had melted away, replaced with concern.

"Ana, you're not well enough to be out this far. Just come back. You can stay with me. We can find something if that's what you really want." I watched with wide eyes as he tried to convince me to come back with him. I wanted to. Badly. But no matter how much I wanted to, he was still what I wanted. I didn't want to go with him and wake up every morning knowing that he doesn't feel the same way about me and have to deal with that. I couldn't.

"No. I'm not going back." I said. I'm sure my voice was shakier than I tried to make it. I was almost in tears. The lump in my throat was too hard to swallow as I tried to blink my tears away without him noticing.

"Have you found a job?"

"I've only been here a day. I'm working on it. I just auditioned for a traveling show. They call by tomorrow for callbacks and I'll know in a week if I have a part."

"Where are you staying?" He asked. I looked to the ground. I couldn't answer him. He would for sure drag me back to Seattle.

"Ana," He said in a warning tone. I stayed silent, suddenly very interested in the number of pebbles lodged into the sidewalk. His fingers crept under my chin and lifted my face. I could feel my cheeks redden from my unshed tears and the effort of keeping them in.

"You're not staying anywhere are you." He stated it rather than asked. I turned my head away from him, letting his fingers slip away but instantly missing the contact. "Ana you can't just stay like that."

I felt a tear slip down my cheek and quickly swiped it away, angry at myself for letting it fall. I turned to him with angry eyes. "Why do you care!" I shouted at him. "I'm nobody! You bought me and were kind enough not to use me and throw me away, but that's it! I'm just a whore! That's all I am, and that's all you want me for!"

"Ana, no!" He tried, but I couldn't listen. I couldn't see him feel bad for me. It would kill me. Break me.

"I don't want your money. I don't want your pity. I don't want your help." I said, walking into the deli and grabbing up my backpack from the booth.

"I have to go." I told America as calmly as I could, which was most likely not very. "Thank you for lunch."

As I walked out of the deli, Christian tried to grab my arm to stop me from leaving. "Ana please you don't-"

"No." I pulled my arm away forcefully and kept walking, keeping my head up as much as I could.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Happy New Year! I'm really excited about this chapter and I hope you are too! I didn't get much feedback for the last chapter, but I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this story! Thank you for all of you who reviewed and favorited and followed!**

 **The song for this chapter is:** _ **Waiting For Superman**_ **by** _ **Daughtry**_

 **Christian's POV**

I watched Ana walk away with her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach as if that would hold her together. I know that the subjects I had approached hurt more that I thought they would have, but they had to be discussed. Taylor pulled up to the curb with the car.

"Sir?" He asked warily. Ana had disappeared around a corner but my eyes were still glued to the spot where she walked away.

"Put a detail on her." I slipped into the passenger seat. "I don't want her hurt."

The rest of my day was spent in my hotel suite absently going through pages while anticipating the required hourly check-in from Ana's guard. So far she was just window shopping around the city.

I ran a hand through my hair as I looked out of the window overlooking the city. I sat in the chair there by the window until late in the night. The early evening pink-tinted sky had faded to a dull black as the lights sparkled from the city's buildings. The detail on Ana texted me reporting for that hour.

 _She went into a bar. She's drinking a tea._

I sighed and stopped pacing. Why would she go into a bar? I watched the time creep by until it was midnight. My eyes drifted to my phone but nothing new had been reported. I jumped when my phone rang.

"Grey" I snapped.

"Sir, I've lost Anastasia. She got out of the bar without me seeing."

"Well, find her! I don't want you screwing around. I pay you enough."

Aggravated, I hung up. How could she have gotten out so quietly? Did she know she had someone following her? My phone rang again twenty minutes later. I picked up quickly, hoping that Ana was found.

"Christian." I heard her gasp my name. My eyes widened and I pulled my phone away enough to see Ana's name across the screen. She sounded out of breath, her lungs gasping for air.

"Christian, there's some guys following me." My heart rate picked up quickly.

"Ana where are you?"

"I'm- No! Let me go!" I heard a thud and a scream before the line went dead, but I had already begun tracking the call. She was just two blocks away. I ran out of my suite, almost knocking into a couple walking down the hall. When I reached the foyer I ran out the front doors. I had no idea where the valet had parked the car, and I wasn't about to spend time looking for it.

I ran the blocks in no time, grateful for all of the regular running I do. I froze and my eyes traveled to an ally as I heard a muffled cry. Ana was being held by two guys against a wall while a third was peeling off her shirt. She fought hard against the two holding her until one punched her in the stomach. She doubled over, still screaming into the hand over her mouth. When she looked up her pleading eyes locked with mine.

"Hey!" I shouted to the guys. "Let her go!" The one stripping her looked up and smirked.

"What are you gonna do?" I rolled my eyes. I could take these fuckers down easily. It would be fun even.

When I was in front of the man, I raised my hand and hit a pressure point on his neck. He was on his knees before he even knew what was happening. I kneed his head so that he was knocked out. One of the other guys had tried unsuccessfully to get behind me. I jammed my elbow into his stomach and hit his throat with the heel of my palm. He was down. The last guy was already off running, sticking out his middle finger at me.

My attention was turned to the shaking Ana. She had managed to get her shirt back in order, but her hands shook as she kept pulling the hem down. Her fear stricken eyes moved from the two men on the ground to me.

"Ana." I moved to her and pulled her into my arms, being careful to not let her touch my chest too much. She tensed as I touched her but soon relaxed. "Come with me." She tensed up again and I could see the conflict raging behind her eyes. "Please." Finally she nodded.

When we got to the hotel suite. I opened the door and let Ana walk in first. I heard her sharp intake of breath when the door shut. She went to the window and sat in the same chair that I had been in earlier. She stared out the window, not once looking my way. I knew she didn't want to talk.

I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, watching her as she watched the city. It wasn't more than a few moments before I saw a tear trickle down her cheek and she sniffed, wiping it away with the back of her hand. "Ana." I said sadly. That was all it took for her to break into tears. She hid her face in her arms as she sobbed, not saying a word.

I stood from the bed and went to her side. Not knowing what to do, I wrapped an arm around her in a sideways hug. She whimpered before burying her head in my shoulder. "I thought you wouldn't come. That you'd be too late and they- they would have-" I shushed her.

My body tensed as I picked her up and brought her to the bed. I could feel her tears against my chest and took a deep breath. _This is Ana. She wouldn't hurt you._ After laying her on the bed I unlaced her tattered converse shoes, being slow and careful as I took them off so as not to frighten her. The back of her shirt was smudged and dirty from the alley wall, but the rest of her outfit seemed unharmed.

"You should change now. I'll get a shirt for you to change into." I grabbed a plain white tee from my suitcase and placed it in her hands. While she was in the bathroom I quickly slipped into a pair of flannel bottoms and another tee. I had a feeling that she would be more uncomfortable were I undressed.

The door to the bathroom opened and Ana came out wearing my shirt that almost reached her knees on her small frame. I could see the blush creeping up her cheeks and up her neck. "Thank you," she said timidly.

I nodded. "No problem."

When she stood in the doorway I looked to her. "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

She nodded, still not looking at me. I looked for spare sheets in the closet. A set of crisp white sheets sat on the top shelf. When I came back Ana was lying down with the covers pulled up to her chin. She faced with her back to the door, looking out the window.

After setting up my makeshift bed, I looked to Ana. She hadn't moved from her position. I didn't know if she was asleep or not.

"Goodnight," I said quietly. Her closed eyes flickered open and moved to me. I saw the tiniest smile.

"Goodnight."

* * *

I woke startled, scrambling to grasp consciousness. Her cries echoed through the room as I stumbled to get untangled from the sheets. Feeling my way through the darkness, I made my way to the bed. Ana had kicked the sheeks off in her sleep and now lay thrashing on the bare bed. I felt goosebumps on the skin of her arms as I shook her awake.

"Ana, wake up! It's just a nightmare!" She shot up in the bed breathing heavily and eyes wide open, glinting in the city lights.

"Did I wake you?" She asked, wiping tears from her cheeks. She shivered as she reached down and wrapped the covers around her shoulders, pulling them tight.

"No," I lied. I had been having a bad dream as well anyway. I'm glad she woke me.

Her eyes found mine and she knew I was lying. "I'm sorry." I sighed and sat back on the couch. I didn't have my piano, so I had nothing else to do but sleep. My eyes wouldn't close for fear of having another nightmare so I ended up staring out the window at the lights.

"Christian?" Ana's small voice called timidly from the bed.

"Yes?" I turned my eyes to her. She was sitting straight up in the bed, her head leaning against the headboard. Looks like we had the same problem.

"Will you-" She paused, hesitant. "Will you lay with me?"

My eyebrows arched. She saw and hurried to speak. "It's just… last time we fell asleep together I… I didn't have any nightmares."

I silently slipped under the covers next to her and she moved to allow for more room. She sighed as we settled into the bed together. My body stiffened as her head lay on my shoulder, but relaxed soon after. I could feel her smile in the crook of my neck.

She kissed my neck where her head lay and pulled the sheets over us. "Thank you for saving me." She said a while later as my eyes became heavy. I was barely aware of the sleepiness that was laced through her voice as well as I wrapped my arm around her and smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

**Christian's POV**

I woke up late the next morning. The sun was almost in the middle of the sky. Looking over my shoulder at the alarm clock next to the bed, I found that it was almost 10:30. Ana sighed and moved in her sleep, effectively grinding herself into a little problem that had occurred in my pants. I groaned and tried to move away, but Ana's arms wrapped around my neck prevented me from doing so. I watched as her lips slightly parted as she breathed in her sleep. I wanted to kiss those lips. So badly. I told myself that I shouldn't touch her until she's signed a contract, but that still didn't deter the thoughts raging through my head.

"Ana." I groaned, shaking her shoulder lightly in order to wake her up. Her eyes flickered open and she moaned, squinting against the sun on her face. Her moan did nothing to help my situation.

"Ana," I breathed again. Her eyes flickered to mine and she seemed to realize my problem . Her face heated and she quickly scrambled off of the bed.

"Please don't make me-"

"No. Ana, I would never make you do anything you didn't want." I cut her off before she could finish her thought. That she expected me to force myself upon her just because I was turned on was disgusting. I moved off of the bed and to her slowly. She eyed me warily, but stayed put. Her posture was stiff when I reached her and pushed locks of messy hair away from her face. "I would never do that," I said softly, cupping her face so that she would look at me.

"I know." She said, her posture softening, her face leaning into my hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just used to-" She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'm going to take a shower." I pulled my hand away, going to my suitcase and pulling out an outfit for the day. Since I had no meetings with anyone, I decided on just a pair of dark-wash jeans and a navy button up shirt. "When I'm done, you can take one and then we'll go for breakfast."

After I cured my situation and finished my shower, I dressed and went back into the bedroom. Ana was laying on the bed facing the window, her arms folded under the pillow.

"You can have a shower now." Ana's head snapped up. She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." She rose and made her way to the bathroom. She turned around in the doorway, blushing. "I- I don't have any clothes."

"I'll have some sent up. They'll be here by the end of your shower."

* * *

An hour later, Ana and I were sitting in a little coffee shop. She insisted on somewhere small instead of the restaurant I suggested. She sat across from me wearing jeans and a fitted, crimson, long sleeved top.

Ana surveyed the menu and ordered a cup of english breakfast tea with a blueberry muffin. I tried to get her to order something more to eat, but she just shook her head, stating that she wasn't hungry. I sighed, giving up my argument against this stubborn woman.

As the waitress came over to take our order, she eyed me up and down, giving what I assumed she thought was a seductive smile. I ordered right after Ana, and her eyes rolled over me again. "Are you sure that's all you want?" She asked.

Ana shifted in her chair, obviously uncomfortable with the exchange. I turned my eyes to the waitress, giving her a cold, polite smile. "Yes."

As we waited for our food, Ana's phone began to ring. She looked to me swiftly, asking silently if it would be alright to answer. I nodded to her. She quickly took the call.

"Hello?" Ana smiled. "This is she." Her smile wavered for a moment, but returned soon after. "Thank you. Of course. Yes, goodbye."

"You seem happy." I stated as she tucked her phone in her back pocket. She smiled and nodded.

"I got a callback." She unwrapped her muffin, pulling the tin away. "For Lucy." Her smile faded slightly when she said the name.

"What part is Lucy?" I asked, curious as to why it would make her any less excited. She hesitantly looked to me. She placed the muffin down on her plate and dipped the teabag into her tea, leaving it for a few seconds before pulling it back out. She clasped her hands together and fiddled with her thumbs.

"She's a-" Ana swallowed. "A prostitute."

I watched Ana's face trying to decipher the emotions there. "But it's only in the show." Ana continued. "She's the second lead. And she has wonderful songs." Ana's smile was back, but I was still worried.

"Will you be able to take that role, Ana?" I asked. "I mean, won't that be hard?"

Ana took a bite of her muffin, and kept her eyes down, thinking. "I- I don't know." She said. "I think I can do it. I just have to get used to it. Being in a show is like your with family." She sighed and picked up her muffin tin, folding it every which way.

"I have to try anyway." She said. Ana's hand reached across the table and took mine. She put my palm face up and dropped a mini origami swan into my hand. I placed the swan gingerly next to my plate.

"Just be careful okay? If it's too hard to do, just find another show."

Ana nodded and finished her muffin as I finished my breakfast as well. She perked up and smiled at me as we finished. "Would you like to come to the callback?" She asked. "It's in about a half-hour. You can't come _in_ , but would you mind waiting?"

* * *

Ana came out of the audition room smiling. She sat next to me on the couch in the lounge room, where a few other people were waiting for others to finish the callbacks.

"I got the part," she whispered to me, quietly so that the other people wouldn't hear. I smiled and tipped my head in her direction so that I could whisper back to her.

"Congratulations." I whispered, my lips accidentally brushing against her ear. She shivered and stood, smiling, taking my hand in hers and pulling me up with her.

As we entered the elevator, the tension was thick in the air. Ana fiddled with the hem of her shirt and she blushed as she avoided eye contact. I knew that when my lips touched the shell of her ear, she felt as I did. When she bit her bottom lip I was gone.

"Fuck the paperwork." I crushed my lips to Ana's. She let out a surprised gasp, opening her lips against mine. I took the opportunity to let my tongue slip into her mouth. Ana moaned, moving her hands to my shoulders. I inhaled sharply and took her wrists, pinning them to the wall above her. Ana kissed me back desperately, our tongues fighting for dominance. I pressed her body to the wall with mine, feeling every curve against my body.

We broke apart when the elevator dinged, the doors opening. Two men in business suits walked in, pressing the button for their floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ana smiling, suppressing a laugh. She placed a hand over her mouth and giggled.

"What is it about elevators?"

 **I figured that you guys would be wanting more A/C already. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**I was kind of disappointed with the amount of reviews last time. But if you think that that deters me, you are sadly mistaken. In addition, I would really like some constructive criticism! Please!? I'm writing stories to expand my writing ability and they would really really help. Thank you for all of my lovely reviewers and followers and (favoriters?)! You are phenomenal, every last one of you.**

 **The song for this chapter: _A New Life_ from Jekyll and Hyde.** **As a side note, the best video I could find with both the song and her (Lucy's) death is** **www. youtube watch?v=rejU9L06uFQ [ _no spaces]_**

 **Ana's POV**

Rehearsals commenced without incident for the next two months. The entire cast was extremely nice and friendly. It made me feel much more calm in the role. That's not to say I wasn't uncomfortable at all. There were a few moments of reluctance during choreography, but nothing too bad. I managed to keep my composure enough so that nobody found anything strange about my reactions to some things.

It was seven in the morning on opening night in New York and my nerves were horrid. I couldn't calm myself down, no matter what I tried. My phone rang, making me jump. It lay on one of the twin beds of my little room that I shared with America for the time being.

I enjoyed sharing it with her, but it made me miss Kate even more than I already did. For a little over a month, I had been avoiding her calls. Every time I had picked up Kate's call, she pleaded with me to come back. The tone of her voice made me want to, but I couldn't go back to a place that had caused me so much hurt.

I picked up my phone, seeing Christian's name flit across the screen. He called at least once a week. The calls had been short and formal, mostly consisting of him asking if I wanted to come back to Seattle. Every time the answer was no. I think he knew that, but he asked anyway. Every no he got from me, he just reminded me that he could pick me up at any time if I did. He said that he understood the need to stay away and reconstruct my life. I hoped he did, honestly.

"Hello, Christian."

"Anastasia. I hope you do well in your show tonight," He paused. I could tell that this conversation would be longer than our usual. He was worried above all of me having a mental collapse onstage. "Are you really going through with this?"

I nodded. He couldn't see me, but I did it more to reassure myself. "Yes. I need to do something. I can't- I can't," I struggled to finish the sentence.

"I know." He cut me off. It was so strange. I used to be able to talk about my job like it was the most normal thing in the world. And it was. Yet now, I could barely make myself utter the words. I felt so horrid. Used. I tried to wash it away, but it just wasn't something so easily shrugged off. No matter how long I stayed in the clean, pure water I emerged as tainted as before.

"I have to go." I said as I heard the lock click, signaling the arrival of America. She pushed open the door with a smile. I ended the call before Christian could protest. Things had been kind of awkward between us since our heated session in the elevator. Neither of us knew what to say or what was going on between us, but it was an avoidable problem at the moment, having both of us in different states and opposite sides of the country.

"Ready for run throughs?" America smiled and tossed me a muffin. I caught it, plastering on a smile, though I'm sure it didn't reach my eyes.

"Yeah."

The lights were on and the stage was waiting as the number right before mine finished up. I took a deep breath and walked onstage, the applause for the previous number fading.

I watched as Carter walked offstage. This was it. My last song of the show. I could do it. All of the eyes bored down on me from all sides. I could feel their weight on my shoulders, but managed to stand straight.

" _A new life. What I wouldn't give, to have a new life. One thing I have learned as I go through life: nothing is for free along the way. A new start. That's the thing I need, to give me new heart. Half a chance in life to find a new part. Just a simple role that I can play…"_

I breathed deep, letting the air fill my lungs and the song envelop my fears, pushing them away. The song was one of my favorites. I identified with it more than anything. This was one character that I didn't have to pretend for.

" _A new life. More and more, I'm sure as I go through life. Just to play the game, and to pursue life. Just to share it's pleasures and belong. That's what I've been here for all along. Each day's a brand new life!"_

I waited until the applause had died down somewhat before settling myself onto the stage bed.

"Dearest Lucy," Dan Hart, the man who played Jekyll and Hyde smirked.

I jumped. Not all of it was fake fear. We exchanged lines, and I focused on that, pretending that the audience wasn't there and we were just in jeans and tee shirts rehearsing. Dan wouldn't hurt me. He wasn't like Jack Hyde was.

"Leave this place I beg you?" He read off the letter written by Henry Jekyll. "You weren't planning on leaving the city without saying goodbye, were you?" My heartbeat sped up.

"No, sir, I'm not going anywhere."

"No. No. No, you're not going anywhere." He sat on the bed next to me. "Come here." I looked at him in reluctance. "Come." I inched to him slowly, trying to calm my speeding heart. "No, no closer." He pulled me so that I was against him and began singing. He held a stage knife. I tried to remind myself this as I was pulled closer to it. The spring would go in, retracting the dull, fake blade as soon as it touched my skin.

" _Sympathy,"_ The tip of the blade touched my skin with a sickening sharpness. Before I could protest, the blade was plunged into my back. I screamed. Dan froze.

The curtains began to close, but not before several crew members were making their way onstage. Half of the audience was confused until some of them understood and began screaming. I heard someone talking to a phone. Saying something about a knife stabbing. I looked around, dazed. A sort of mist had descended upon my senses. Who had been stabbed?

I felt a hand wrap around my own and a palm on my face. Was I lying down? I was supposed to be doing the show. Something was wrong. I opened my eyes, not remembering when I closed them. Dan's face hovered above mine. His desperate, worried face.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I winced, pain spreading across my stomach when I tried to speak. A fire spread across my stomach and seemingly into every pore of my body. It filled my lungs until I couldn't breath no matter how hard I tried. Black dots danced on the edges of my vision.

A wave of dizziness cascaded down on me as I was lifted into a big, white vehicle. The pain in my stomach wouldn't go away for some reason. A mask was put on my face, pushing air through my lungs. I focused on it, trying to grasp for any breaths I could.

Something pinched my arm. I made a strange sound in my throat and tried to move, but my arms were held down against the uncomfortable bed. Soon, everything was gone and there was nothing but blackness.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to the right. A person lay slumped in the chair next to mine. America had her head cradled in her arms as she slept sprawled out in a chair that was pulled up so that it nearly touched the bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked. I opened my mouth to reply, but a sharp pain in my stomach reminded me that I probably shouldn't. I closed my mouth and nodded. Why was I nodding? I had just gotten stabbed. Tears were falling before I could stop them and I let my head fall on America's shoulder. I shook my head 'no'. I was most definitely _not_ okay.


	15. Chapter 15

**HOLY CRAP! 103 reviews! Thank you all so much for reading my story! I've tried taking your advice into the story if you left any. Tell me if it's better this time! :) I tried.**

 **The song for this chapter is: _Army_ _by Ellie Goulding_**

 **Ana's POV**

My phone rang from the bedside table in the white antiseptic scented hospital room. I was sitting alone in the room, the only sound coming from the machine next to me that contained oxygen. Two tubes were in my nose, helping me breathe painful breaths. America had left a few hours ago to reassure the cast that I was going to be fine. I picked up my buzzing phone with shaking, clumsy fingers and looked at the screen. Christian. If he heard what happened, he would come straight away. I knew this. It would make me feel guilty later, but at the moment, I couldn't care less.

"Ana are you okay?" Christian asked. His usual calm tone was massively different. It wavered with concern and uncertainty. Slight hesitance where a part of him doesn't want to know the answer. He didn't elaborate, but I was sure he knew what happened.

"No." I sniffled, holding back tears that came anyway. I sobbed once into the phone, wishing Christian was just here. "I'm not okay."

"I'm coming. I'm arranging for the helicopter. I'll be there in a few hours." I choked back sobs. A few hours was so far away, I needed him now. When I finally got my tears under control, I was hiccuping. My cheeks felt wet and hair stuck to the sides of my face.

"You'll be okay. I'll be there." He said before hanging up.

I dropped the phone somewhere on the bed and turned my face into my pillow, crying. The sharp pain in my back protested the action, but I didn't care. I heard footsteps outside the door and jumped, groaning as my back twisted. The footsteps died away and I dropped back onto my bed. I hated being this paranoid. I hated feeling so unsafe.

A doctor came in an hour later examining my back. She unwound the bandages and put on fresh crisp white ones. I flinched as the cool, stiffer material covered the wound. She asked me if I needed anything before departing and then I was alone again. I looked at the clock seven times in the next five minutes. Finally, on the eighth glance, I pushed the digital clock off of the table onto a pile of folded blankets in a bin next to the bed. It fell face-down so I couldn't see it's face.

I turned over onto my stomach, with much painful effort, and laid my head in my folded arms. It was better than having my bandaged back rub the stiff hospital sheets. Slowly, my eyes drifted shut, listening to the quiet beep of the oxygen machine.

…

I woke to the sound of footsteps. My door opened and then shut again. My head was still hazy from sleep and I didn't know who it was. With my heart speeding, I squeezed my eyes shut as if that would somehow ward off the intruder. Tears ran as I imagined all of the things anyone could do to me in my injured state.

"Hey." A voice said as it came nearer. I felt a hand brush hair from my face where it had fallen during sleep. I relaxed and opened my eyes. Christian sat in the chair next to me wearing a light grey button up and dark wash jeans. I sat up, trying hard to suppress my pain. Knowing Christian, if knew I was hurting, he would keep me bed bound.

My legs swung over the side of the bed as he watched me with concerned eyes. I spread my palm next to me and patted the covers. "Please come. I can't reach that far." Christian smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He sat next to me and held my chin in his grip brushing my new tears away from my cheeks with a quiet sad expression.

"What have they done to you?" He asked quietly. I didn't know who he meant at which part of my life, but the question made me break down into tears. Christian's strong hands pulled my shoulders so that I was against him. I buried my face into his neck, my tears falling and wetting his shirt and my sobs filling the empty silent room.

He said nothing as I cried, and I was glad. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to cry. I wanted to sob and scream and cry. The facade that I'd built up over the years that I could take anything that was thrown my way was so thick, so strong that I started to believe it. Now my shell was cracking and splintering, falling apart at the seams. The fact that Christian would come across the country to be with me at the moment I needed him most made my world.

Twenty minutes later, I had cried all of my tears. My body sagged from exhaustion as I stayed against Christian. We said no words still, but it was far from awkward. He knew that I was tired and in pain and frightened and, unlike everyone else, did not attempt to push words from my mouth. He moved so that his back was against the plastic headboard and my body lay next to his, pushed close on the small twin bed. My head still was on his shoulder when I fell asleep again, this time to the sound of Christian's heartbeat and gentle breaths.

I breathed in deeply before opening my eyes. The tubes were still there and it still hurt to expand my lungs too much, but I felt worlds better than yesterday. I sat up slowly, my hand traveling next to me to find a cold empty space in the sheets. I opened my eyes then to an empty room. I sighed and leaned back on my palms, turning my head to look at the clock. My eyes found a slip of paper where it should have been. That's right. The clock is on the ground.

I picked up the paper and read the note with a smile.

Ana,

I'm out to forage for breakfast. Tell me they haven't been feeding you that hospital stuff? -Christian

My eyes traveled to the pile of white material on which the bedside clock sat. I slid off of the mattress and trudge to the other side of the nightstand to retrieve it. I held my breath as I bent down to get it, my eyes widening as my backside was exposed to the air.

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked. My cheeks burned red as I grabbed the clock and quickly spun back around. I placed the clock on the bedside table and slowly met Christian's eyes. He looked like he was about to laugh.

I waved a hand at the digital clock. "It fell." I said.

"You should be in bed. It wasn't there this morning or last night." Christian countered.

I crossed my arms and pouted. "It fell before you got here."

"Mmhm. Okay." Christian sat on the bed next to me as I sat down. He unrolled the top of the paper bag and brought out three bagels and a muffin. He set two cups down on the bedside table and handed me the blueberry muffin.

"You're going to eat three bagels?"

He extended his finger and fit two bagels on it. "I'm going to eat two bagels. The third is yours if you want more than just a muffin." He eyed me, silently telling me that I should eat it. I shrugged and peeled the tin away from the muffin.

"I don't eat big breakfasts." I told him. Which was true. Even when I was a little girl, I never ate very much in the morning. For some reason, I could see that bothered Christian.

"Hmm." Christian split his bagel and spread cream cheese on both halves. Before he took a bite he smiled.

"What?"

"You have a very sexy backside Miss Anastasia." I narrowed my eyes and swiped my finger across his bagel, the tip of my finger covered in cream cheese. With my own grin, I tapped my finger against the tip of his nose. He chuckled as he swallowed.

"Now look what you did." He exclaimed in mock disbelief. I laughed at him as he swiped his own finger across his nose, trying to get it off, but leaving some behind still. I leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose, letting my tongue peep out to take the cream. My breath hitched when his hands held my arms and pulled my away just a fraction of an inch.

Christian's eyes search mine. He's trying to find something, but I don't know what. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. My eyes closed as he kissed me back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands slipped under the back of the gown, pressing my bare shoulder blades until my body was against his.

"Ana, Dan said that he- Oh." Opening my eyes, I pulled away from Christian blushing.

"Should I go?" America asked uncertainly. I looked to Christian, but he had gone back to work on his bagel.

"No. What did Dan say Ames?"

"Well. He said that he looked through the prop closet, because you know it was locked before show. The lock was tampered with. He swears he didn't do it, Ana. And he isn't the sort to hurt someone in any case."

"I didn't think it was him. He wouldn't. Thank you for telling me." I told her. She took her leave, assuming to go to speak with Dan.

"Well. We were caught." Christian said, beginning on his second half.

"I hope you don't regret it."

"Do you?" He asked.

I looked out the window. I didn't know what I felt. I knew I had feelings for him. He just seemed so strange. One minute, we'd be laughing, and then all at once, he would close himself back up. My fingers brushed over my arms where his were before. And then there was the problem of me feeling like I was never good enough for him. He was a big shot millionaire while I, well. I was _me_.

"I don't know. I mean- I liked it, but after so long working in what I have… You just- You forget what it feels like to actually enjoy anything like that."

Christian turned to me, putting down his new bagel. When I tried to look away to avoid his eyes, he took my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"I could make you enjoy it." He said. It was nearly a promise, but it was open ended. Like he wanted me to consent. I'd been with a lot of men claiming that I would enjoy it, and they've never kept their word. Always lied to me. I didn't want him to as well. More than anything, if I was to enjoy having sex I would want it to be with him.

"Could you?" I asked. It wasn't a challenge. He could tell what I meant.

He smiled and let his fingers drop away from my chin. He moved his eyes to his bagel and tore a piece off. "I guess we'll have to see when you get better."

I groaned and fell back on the bed dreading the, no doubt, months of waiting until then. We finished our food in silence. As I finished my last bite, I plucked the muffin tin from the table and folded it into a little origami hopping frog. I smiled and made it hop onto Christian's lap. He picked it up and examined it.

"Why do you make these?"

I shrugged and moved my feet so that they were under the covers. "When I was little, I had an origami book that Ray got me. We made them together, because I could never get the folds right."

He raised an eyebrow and put the frog on top of the last bagel. "Now you can."

I nodded. "Now I can."

Christian sat in the chair next to me for an hour and talked before his phone rang. When he looked at the screen, his face darkened. "Grey." He snapped.

Christian stood and moved to leave and I frantically tried to tell him not to leave before he had already gone. No coherent words would come fast enough, when I made a noise of protest in my throat. He paused and looked back at me. "Don't call me about it again. Set up an appointment with Andrea."

"Who was that?" Christian's fingers ran through his hair before he looked at me. His smile painfully fake. I'd seen many fake smiles, between theatre and my job, and this was one.

"No one."

"No it wasn't. Why won't you-"

"It was no one Ana." He snapped, cutting me off. I opened my mouth, ready to retort, but closed it again, not wanting to push him. Whatever had happened, it had made him angry. He'd never snapped at me before, and I wonder what that person had said to set him off.

He sat back down next to me and smiled again. It was weak, but real. And that meant everything. I reached up and ran my fingers through his disheveled copper hair. Somehow, every trouble melted away when I was with him. He made me stronger.

"Christian."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Ana's POV**

After three weeks of being in the hospital I was finally allowed to leave. It felt like months that I'd been locked up in this clean, white prison. My guard was always up. I'd been suspicious and paranoid ever since the stage incident and being bedridden over half of the time wasn't helping in the slightest way. I was too vulnerable out in the open where anybody could access me. Christian had assured me I was safe, but even the man outside my door who I'd assumed Christian sent, didn't make me feel less anxious.

I was changing into the new outfit Christian brought me to leave in when the door opened. I quickly slipped the blouse over my head and walked out of the small bathroom that adjoined the room. Christian stood in the middle of the room in a gray suit. His hair looked just as messy as always despite the formal wear.

"You ready?" I smiled and nodded, glad to get out of this room.

"I have to do some paperwork."

"It's taken care of. You just need to sign out."

I shook my head at him. "How do you do that?"

"I have influence, if you hadn't noticed." He smirked.

"I might've." I slipped past him out of the room and down the hallway. His footsteps echoed through the hallway as he followed me to the front desk. The receptionist glanced up at us before pulling a file out of a file cabinet and setting it out for me.

"Anastasia Steele?" I nodded. "Sign here please."

As I sign, out of the corner of my eye I see the nurse wink at Christian. I swallow my annoyance. The jealously claws at me, trying to release some kind of retort to claim him. But he's not mine, so I lower my eyes and grip the pen harder focusing on the curves that the ink makes, forming my signature.

...

We stepped off the elevator into Christian's apartment. By the time we had gotten there it was early evening and nearly dinner time. Something that smelled like garlic and pasta wafted through the air, making my stomach protest its lack of good non-hospital food. Gail's head popped around the corner to the kitchen.

"Dinner is nearly ready Mr. Grey. It's spaghetti and garlic bread, but if Miss Steele would like anything different, I can whip something else up." She said with a warm smile.

"That sounds amazing. It _smells_ amazing."

Gail nodded and went back into the kitchen to do prepare whatever she needed to for dinner. Christian took my hand and led me to the great room. He sat me on the sofa and went to the bar on the other side of the room. "Would you like some wine?" He asked, already pouring himself a glass of red wine.

"Yes, please." He poured another matching glass and handed it to me. Sitting on the sofa next to me, our bodies agonizingly close. I ran my fingertips over the black fabric that made up the couch that we sat on. It was the first night that I'd been here when we sat here together and talked through the night into the early morning hours.

"You've had a hell of a month, haven't you Ana?" Christian took a sip from his glass, his gray eyes following, calculating my reaction.

"I suppose," I began, trailing off and biting my lip. What had happened made me nervous and had me have bouts of paranoia constantly. It wasn't exactly a small chat conversation.

Christian's hand reached over and cups my face, sending chills down my body. His thumb gently pulls my bottom lip from my teeth, taking a deep breath as he does so. "I'd like to bite that lip." He whispered into my ear, his warm breath whispering across my cheek.

I took a shaky breath and my fingers slipped from holding my glass, some of the wine sloshing over the side. I closed my eyes, frustrated. How perfect of me to spill my drink. I felt the wine drip down my neck and down into my blouse, but I was paralyzed by the proximity of Christian, never wanting the moment to end. Though my eyes were closed, I could still feel his breath on my cheek. Without warning, I felt Christian's lips on my neck, his tongue darting out to taste the wine that spilled there. I couldn't contain the whimper that came out as he followed the trail of wine that had trickled down between the valley of my breasts with his lips. His tongue languidly coming out to lap up the wine that had spilled.

I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled his head up gently. My chest trembled with my uneven breaths as Christian placed his lips against mine. When his tongue darted into my mouth I could still taste the bittersweet wine on his lips. I inhaled sharply as he took my bottom lip between his teeth and tugged gently.

When Christian's lips pulled away from mine I leaned forward a bit, searching for his lips, never wanting the kiss to end. He placed his hands softly on the sides of my face, tilting my head so that our eyes met. He stroked his thumb across my lips, tracing them. "What are you doing to me?"

A coil of heat turned in my stomach. Something I haven't felt since forever ago. Desire had become almost a foreign feeling to me. Over the years I was really just disgusted and horrified at any man who ever accosted me. Now, looking at Christian and feeling him so close to me, I could feel the desire burning through every part of me. But still, there was a part of me, in the very back recesses of my mind that is terrified of Christian. That part of me is so fearful of the possibility that he can up and leave and sever all connections with me just like any other client. I hated it. I hated that I was so afraid. I was so angry at myself for it, but being a whore, emotions like love had always been so pure and unattainable that they were something to be only dreamt of. Now having any possibility of it is equally exciting and paralyzing.

"You should change before dinner." He said, his eyes trailing to my now wine stained shirt. I nodded, my cheeks still flaring. He stood, offering his hand and led me into the room that I stayed in before. It was still devoid of personality, but it was still a beautiful room.

"There are clothes in the closet for you. I had my little sister help with those." He nodded to the door which apparently held a closet.

"You have a sister?" I asked, curious. He hadn't very often talked about himself when we conversed. The conversation was always skillfully turned back on me. It now led me to wonder how often that he avoided conversation to be able to steer them so easily.

"And a brother." He replied. "Gail will have dinner ready soon. Feel free to change into anything." I hadn't bothered to look for a closet last time I'd been here. I had brought my own clothes and had no need of more. This time however, I had no clothes after leaving the theatre in my costume. As soon as I opened the door, my breath left my body. Rows of the shelves and the hangers were all full of rainbows of clothing. Some were sparkly, some silky, and others just plain jeans and tee shirts. As I went through them, I saw they were all my size and of the few tags that I saw, were extremely expensive. My cheeks reddened as I slid open a large drawer that contained lingerie of every color and type. After perusing the closet, I didn't know whether to be angry or excited. I decided I was both, but I wouldn't let Christian know that. He can't spend thousands of dollars on me just for clothes!

After slipping into a plain navy blue long sleeved shirt, I made my way into the dining room where I saw Christian waiting. I sat across from him as Gail brought in the food. It smelled heavenly, but it wouldn't distract me. "Thank you Gail. I'm sure it'll be delicious."

As soon as Gail exited the room, I looked to Christian. "You bought me a whole wardrobe?"

"I did."

"Christian, that's like thousands of dollars."

"Well, I do have billions of dollars, so that wasn't a problem Ana." He said, sipping his wine casually.

"I already have clothes." I protested.

"Is it a crime for me to spoil you Ana? I like doing it. And if it makes you feel better, It can be more for my enjoyment than for yours, so thank you for suffering through the new clothes for me." He smiled at me over the lip of his glass and I knew this was going to be a losing battle for me.

"Fine." I said, pouting as best I could. It was hard the way he smiled at me. Now as I looked down to my plate, I found it irresistible to resist the spaghetti waiting for me. As soon as the food hit my mouth I sighed in contentment. It was so wonderful.

"Better than hospital food." Christian said, taking a bite for himself. I nodded and eagerly continued eating. Christian chuckled at me from across the table. Using my feet to maneuver under the table, I found his leg and kicked it mischievously. Before I could pull it back away, fingers wrapped around my ankle. Christian laughed and ran his fingers down the bottom of my foot. I squealed and tried to pull away, erupting in laughter, but he held my leg captive in a strong grip and continued his torture by tickling. Finally, after enough wriggling, I was able to yank my foot away. My lungs burned for breath after the merciless tickle attack.

We ate the rest of the meal in a comfortable silence, smiles plastered on both of our faces. At the end of the meal, Christian leaned back and sipped his drink. Something from our conversation at the hospital occurred in my head.

"You said in the hospital that you could make me enjoy sex."

"I did." He said, setting his glass on the table. All earlier easygoing atmosphere had drained from the room. Christian's gaze became more heated and cautious as if he was contemplating something monumental. I became worried with every passing moment that was filled only with silence. Maybe I should never have brought it up. What if he was only kidding. While I had an intense desire to be able to enjoy such a luxury in life, he probably had women falling all over him. Why would he want me?

"I shouldn't have-"

"No." He cut me off. "There are some things you need to know before we do anything." He stated cautiously. I arched a brow at him questioningly.

"Like what?" I asked. It was hard for my brain to conjure up any kind of imperfection or deep dark secret to this man. He was perfect in every way. Yet, I shouldn't have been so quick to leap to conclusions. Everyone had secrets no matter how put together people seem. In my line of work, you found out quite a lot about that.

He stood, pulling out my chair for me. I followed him down a hall where he wordlessly led me. The door that we stopped in front of was ordinary. It didn't seem like such an ordinary mask was capable of hiding secrets that seemed so important to Christian, but he pulled a key out of his pocket proving me otherwise. If the door needed a key, I began to worry exactly what he was hiding.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to Ana. If you want to leave, we can find you an apartment somewhere." I stared at him in utter shock. He thought whatever was behind this door would drive me away. Was going to make me want to _leave_. The man must be off of his hinges if he thinks anything could make me even began to think about wanting to never see him again.

"Open the door."

He stared at me intently with his maddening grey eyes before taking a breath and opening the door. I could see the hesitance and anxiety. It clung to him and made his movements slow, mechanic. At first it was dark in the room, but as the lights flickered into existence my entire body froze. The room wasn't just a _room._ It was a _playroom._ I walked in slowly, every step laden with the fear that consumed my thoughts and raced down my body. I raised my hand up and traced the handle of a cane that hung on a rack of impeccably clean, organized instruments. My eyes traveled the walls that were painted a deep red, casting the room in an ominous dark feeling. It looked like the one that we had in the back of the club. Elena had designed it when Jack began to have people who wanted a bit more excessive sessions than just a quick job. I started at the sound of Christian's voice, frightened out of my thoughts. "Say something."

"I- " Couldn't think of anything to respond with. My mind had transported me back to the club. I was never allowed to be taken into the playroom by any clients. That was for other girls, but not me. The only times I'd ever gone into the room were when Jack had gotten angry at me. He needed someone to take out his anger on. The only thing the playroom was tied to, in my mind was pain.

"Christian, this. I don't know if I-"

"Just think about it for me. It's not all pain, I promise."

I shook my head. "It's always been pain."

"Ana whatever Jack did to you, it wasn't what I want with you. There's pleasure. I have rules. If you follow them, you'll be rewarded. If you don't, you'll be punished."

"Punished with these." I said, looking over the room at the various objects that I knew caused so much hurt.

"It's not all punishment Ana. I'm not Jack. You know that, don't you? I wouldn't do anything you won't consent to."

"I know."

"Just think about it Ana. You don't need to answer tonight." I nodded and took one more glance around the room.

"Hey," Christian caught my chin in his fingers and turned my head. "I won't hurt you."

…

We sat in the great room eating chocolate cake. Christian had said how much he loved it and I convinced him into making a speech on the spot about his undying love of it. I was laughing until I couldn't breathe when Christian plopped down on the sofa next to me. He pushed my shoulders down gently and hovered over me.

"Are you laughing at me Anastasia?"

"Maybe," I giggled as he reached down and tickled my side. "No! Stop!" I said through my fit of laughter. "Ok! I was laughing at you! Stop!"

As I caught my breath, I realized how close Christian was. His knees pressed into the couch between my legs and his face was inches from mine. I leaned up and pressed my lips to his. His fingers moved into my hair tugging gently before pressing me closer to him. He broke away and sighed contentedly. I watched him stand up and offer his hand to me. I took it and placed a quick kiss on his lips when I was level with him. Before I pulled away, his hands pressed me to him, not letting the kiss end. Soon, my feet were gone from under me and I was in Christian's arms. I pulled my lips away from his and laughed.

"What are you doing?"

He pressed his hips into my body, showing me his need.

"I think we need to assuage some things."


	17. Chapter 17

**So I noticed that some of you thought this was over. Um... nope. So yeah, there's that. It's not over. It just started! Alright, this one's shorter, but I've never done a lemon and was struggling. Tell me what you think and please review! They make my day!**

 **The song for this chapter is:** **Salvation** **by** _ **Gabrielle Aplin**_

Ana's POV

I sighed as Christian's lips traveled the length of my throat, nipping and sucking at the more tender parts behind my ear and at the base of my neck. My head found its way to the crook of his neck and rested there. I felt my heart beating much faster than normal. Part of it was desire and part of it was fear. What if I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would? As Christians lips found their way back to my lips he paused, hovering.

"Are you alright with this?" He asked. My hips ground against his as I hitched my legs around his waist. I inhaled sharply and moaned at the friction.

"Please," I said, my words light and breathless. "Don't stop."

I didn't realize we were at his bedroom until he kicked the door open. He set me down at the edge of his bed. My eyes traveled the room, its walls glowing in the soft light of the city levels below. It was large for only one person, and mostly undecorated except for a few choice paintings scattered on the walls. No personal pictures or notes at all.

My attention was drawn when I felt cool air hit my stomach. Christian was kneeling in front of me, the hem of my shirt lifted to expose my stomach. His gaze roved over my skin, as if trying to memorize every detail. He dragged his lips agonizingly slowly up from the waistband of my jeans, across my belly button, and to the underside of my his fingers followed the path blazed by his lips, he started to further push my shirt up. I held my hands over my head as the shirt came off. His fingers ghosted over my shoulder blades and down my back trailing fire in their wake and making me shiver.

My fumbling fingers found the button of my jeans and unclasped it, letting Christian pull them down, trailing his fingers along my legs as more and more skin was exposed. His hands slowly made their way back up, traveling to my inner thigh and grazing my heated sex. I groaned as a jolt of pleasure ren through my body at the smallest contact from him. "Please," I gasped.

I fell to my knees in front of him and pulled at the hem of his shirt. He tensed and caught my wrists in his hands before I could do any more with them. "What?" I asked gently, not trying to pull my hands free from his own.

"I can't be touched on my chest." He said, looking me straight in the eyes. "Or my back." I could see the sadness and the shame in the back of his eyes. Desire was so dominant in both of us at the moment, but I could still see the emotions he was battling with. Whatever he was dealing with was a lot bigger than any of the problems I could have fathomed he could ever have.

"Okay." I replied. I didn't mention the scar on my inner thigh that I couldn't bear to have touched. He didn't see it nor touch it. We would cross that bridge when we came to it, but he didn't need to know now. He looked at me, contemplating, before letting my wrists go. I gently tugged his shirt up and over his head. As his torso came into view, I groaned. His hard defined muscles clearly showed the hours of workouts he must do.

I trace my fingers just above his waistband and look up to him. "Is this okay?" I feel him shiver, but he nods. My fingers move up slightly as I watch his face, he nods again, this time I trail my fingers up his abs, setting my palm flat and inching up slowly. When my hand nears his chest, he takes it away and reclaims my lips. I give in to him and let him lead me to his bed.

His knees land on either side of me as he pushed my shoulders down to the mattress and straddles my hips, his fingers reaching around me to unclasp my bra and throw it to the ground. He leans up and looks down at me. Suddenly, the voice in my head returns, reminding me of myself. How much better he is than me. I look away from his burning gaze and wrap my arms around my stomach and chest.

"Don't." He says, pulling my arms away and pinning my wrists above my head. "Don't hide. Not from me."

In a frenzy of heated kisses and desperate touches, all of our clothes were discarded and there were no barriers between our bodies. Christian looked at me and ran his and down my arm, traveling even more downward until they reached my sex. I gasped his name as a finger slid in and began gently stroking me. Another finger massaged my clit as his lips played around my nipples. I arched my back searching for more, needing more. My hips bucked into his touch as I neared my climax, but his fingers pulled away just before I reached it. I whimpered and pulled on his hair gently. "Please." I groaned, arching my body up towards his. I needed him inside me.

"You're sure?" He asked. By the way his voice was tensed, I knew he didn't want to stop. Still, I knew that if I wanted to, he would've. That was a luxury I was so often denied, it felt like one of the most precious gifts he could give to me. Better than anything he could ever offer with his money or power.

"Yes!" I gasped when his hips grinded into mine. His hands grasped my hips and his erection teased my entrance. I arched my hips to his, trying to push him into me. He held my hips in place, teasing me. Slowly, he pushed in earning a gasp from me. I moved my hips against him, my hands grasped his forearms when he thrust back in again. I felt a soft heat against my neck as Christian moaned and tugged my earlobe with his teeth.

"Oh-" My body moved in joint with his as he pumped into me. I tugged his hair, whimpering. The original flames had spread throughout my body like a wildfire, consuming every inch of my skin. This man wanted me. And while for now, hearing him make such sexy noises was enough, I hoped that this would never end. Soon I felt the coil in my stomach tighten even more. I was so close. "Harder Christian-" I gasped. "Faster"

Christian complied to my request and sped up, his length penetrating deep. His hips worked, thrusting over and over, not daring to let me go. I could hear from his ragged breaths that he was close too. "Christian!" I cried, burying my head in his shoulder. My hips jerked and my muscles contracted around him. With one final thrust, he was gone too. His hands roaming my body, feeling every inch. There was nothing but silence and uneven breaths as both of us came down from our highs,

As my muscles relaxed, a bout of sleepiness washed over me, I don't ever recall being ever so satisfied or tired after just one round. My breathing slowed and I couldn't fight the tiredness tugging at my eyes begging for the sweet, soft grasp of sleep. I was vaguely aware of Christian pulling the sheets up over me and tucking them under my chin before lying down next to me. I would have tried to get closer were it not for the exhaustion fogging my actions and the uncertainty of just how comfortable we could be together in bed.

"Goodnight Ana." I heard from somewhere outside of my cocoon of warm blankets through my closed lids.

"Night Christian-" My voice trailed off at the end, barely able to finish the thought before being drawn into the embrace of darkness.


End file.
